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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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Word bank
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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: file · track · straw · content · tube · rash · spell · trunk

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. spell — letters
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. file — a line of people
  6. rash — a series
  7. content — happy
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. file — a document
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. track — a song
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. track — to keep track
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. file — a tool
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — the underground
  23. track — a path
  24. content — the amount

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