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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bark — to shout
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. file — a tool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. content — the amount
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. dip — to sink
  12. tube — a container
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. file — a document
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. snap — to click
  21. capital — a city
  22. file — a line of people
  23. capital — money
  24. bark — of a tree

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