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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 · cold · content · tube · bowl · last · root · fan

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  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. last — final
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. file — a line of people
  4. tube — a container
  5. last — finally
  6. cold — not warm
  7. root — of a word
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. root — of a plant
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — an illness
  12. file — a tool
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. root — the cause
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. last — to go on
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  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