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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tube — a container
  6. file — a tool
  7. content — happy
  8. band — a ring
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. fall — the season
  12. deal — to handle
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. file — a document
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. band — a music group
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. file — a line of people
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fall — to drop
  24. tear — from crying

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