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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. content — the amount
  4. file — a line of people
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. file — a document
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. file — a tool
  16. tube — a container
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. pit — a hole
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pit — in a race
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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