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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. can — a tin
  3. file — a tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. can — a tin
  6. content — happy
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chair — a leader
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. last — to go on
  13. content — the amount
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. file — a document
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. tear — to rip
  22. can — to be able to
  23. file — a line of people
  24. last — final

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