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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. wound — an injury
  3. last — final
  4. hand — help
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mine — for digging
  8. last — finally
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. hand — in cards
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. content — happy
  17. last — to go on
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mine — belonging to me

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