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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. content — the amount
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. lean — thin
  5. charge — in control
  6. rest — a break
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. tube — the underground
  9. rest — what's left
  10. content — happy
  11. wind — moving air
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. charge — electricity
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fork — in a road
  17. cell — in biology
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. lean — to bend
  20. charge — a price
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rest — what's left

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