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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fine — all right
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. track — a path
  6. content — happy
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. track — to keep track
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mine — for digging
  11. content — the amount
  12. track — a song
  13. shower — to wash
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — high quality
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. shower — rain
  23. file — a document
  24. content — videos and posts

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