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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. squash — the sport
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. lie — to recline
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. file — a line of people
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. file — a tool
  10. content — the amount
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wake — a trail
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. squash — to crush
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. file — a document

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