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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. game — wild animals
  3. file — a tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. board — to get on
  6. file — a line of people
  7. content — happy
  8. tube — a container
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. band — a music group
  13. game — a match
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — the underground
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. file — a document
  20. pop — soda
  21. band — a ring
  22. board — a committee
  23. pop — music
  24. spell — magic

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