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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. tube — the underground
  3. fork — in a road
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rash — hasty
  10. content — happy
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mug — to rob
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mug — a face
  18. tear — to rip
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tube — a container
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. mug — a cup
  24. row — a line

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