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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a document
  5. content — the amount
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. press — to push
  12. chip — to eat
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chip — for betting
  15. tear — to rip
  16. press — a publisher
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — newspapers
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. stand — to bear
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. file — a tool
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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