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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. wound — an injury
  3. content — happy
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. content — the amount
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. band — a music group
  8. net — in sport
  9. file — a line of people
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pound — a weight
  12. file — a tool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. root — of a plant
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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