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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · cold · file · pitcher · bound · present · foot · prune

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cold — not warm
  5. foot — a measure
  6. bound — obliged
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. file — a tool
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. present — a gift
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bound — certain
  17. content — the amount
  18. bound — tied together
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. present — there
  23. content — happy
  24. cold — an illness

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