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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · cue · file · tube · toast · content

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — a signal
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. tear — to rip
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. tear — from crying
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. tube — a container
  17. cue — for pool
  18. file — a document

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