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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. squash — to crush
  6. land — to come down
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. squash — the sport
  9. land — a country
  10. rash — a series
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. tube — a container
  13. content — happy
  14. file — a tool
  15. lean — to bend
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. lean — thin
  19. file — a document
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. land — ground
  22. tube — the underground
  23. rash — hasty
  24. content — the amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com