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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. tube — a container
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bank — for money
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. content — the amount
  9. bank — for money
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. ground — the earth
  12. shower — rain
  13. bank — of a river
  14. tube — the underground
  15. content — happy
  16. ground — crushed
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cell — a phone
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. toast — bread
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. toast — the most admired

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