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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. tube — the underground
  3. last — final
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. content — happy
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. staff — employees
  8. bound — tied together
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tube — a container
  11. staff — employees
  12. bear — the animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. staff — a stick
  15. shower — rain
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bear — the animal
  18. last — finally
  19. bound — certain
  20. last — to go on
  21. shower — to wash
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bound — obliged

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