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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: tear · cue · file · tube · toast · content · drill · spell

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. file — a line of people
  3. drill — army training
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cue — a hint
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cue — a signal
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. content — the amount
  11. cue — for pool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. file — a document
  14. spell — letters
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. tear — from crying
  18. drill — the tool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — the underground
  22. toast — bread
  23. file — a tool
  24. tube — in a tire

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