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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 120 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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. content — the amount
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cell — in biology
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. content — happy
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tube — the underground
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. cell — a phone
  24. tube — a container

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