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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — a grade
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. mate — a partner
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bound — obliged
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bound — certain
  13. file — a document
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mark — a trace
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bound — tied together
  20. file — a tool
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. tear — from crying
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mate — a friend

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