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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. tube — a container
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. last — to go on
  6. file — a document
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bound — certain
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. last — finally
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. content — the amount
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bound — tied together
  19. file — a tool
  20. tube — the underground
  21. last — final
  22. bound — obliged
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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