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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. shower — to wash
  6. drill — army training
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. drill — a practice
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pass — a permit
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. branch — a division
  18. drill — the tool
  19. shower — rain
  20. content — happy
  21. file — a tool
  22. content — the amount
  23. file — a document
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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