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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. snap — to click
  2. tube — a container
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. foot — a measure
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rule — a law
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. rule — government
  13. branch — a division
  14. content — happy
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. pound — a weight
  20. tube — the underground
  21. file — a document
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pound — for dogs
  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