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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a document
  3. hand — help
  4. pound — a weight
  5. content — the amount
  6. staff — a stick
  7. content — happy
  8. spring — the season
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. object — an aim
  11. object — to protest
  12. file — a line of people
  13. staff — employees
  14. file — a tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spring — of water
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pop — music
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — to visit
  23. object — a thing
  24. pound — to hit hard

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