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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. content — happy
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rush — hurry
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. tube — a container
  11. current — electric
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rule — government
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. current — happening now
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rule — a law
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. current — of water
  22. tube — the underground
  23. content — videos and posts
  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