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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. file — a document
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. drill — the tool
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. craft — boats
  14. object — to protest
  15. drill — army training
  16. file — a tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. craft — a skill
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — an aim
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. craft — a handicraft

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