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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pop — soda
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. file — a document
  5. lean — to bend
  6. spring — a coil
  7. file — a line of people
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. pop — music
  10. ball — a dance
  11. fine — all right
  12. band — a music group
  13. ball — a great time
  14. lean — thin
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. band — a ring
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. file — a tool
  20. content — happy
  21. pop — to visit
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. content — the amount

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