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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. current — happening now
  5. mate — a partner
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. content — happy
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wound — an injury
  16. content — the amount
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mate — to breed
  19. tube — a container
  20. rock — a stone
  21. mate — a friend
  22. rock — music
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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