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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 124 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. file — a document
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. file — a tool
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a friend
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — happy
  17. mate — a partner
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — the season
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. shower — to wash
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. tear — to rip
  24. patient — a sick person

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