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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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468
Word bank
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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. file — a line of people
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. content — happy
  5. present — the time now
  6. file — a document
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — thin
  10. present — there
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. present — a gift
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. content — the amount
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. file — a tool
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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