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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. content — the amount
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. spell — magic
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. file — a tool
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. spell — letters
  17. wax — to grow
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. content — happy

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