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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: content · stick · date · cell · land · face · tube · fork

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cell — a phone
  4. face — to point toward
  5. fork — in a road
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. content — the amount
  8. land — to come down
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. tube — a container
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. face — to confront
  14. content — happy
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. land — ground
  17. tube — the underground
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. land — a country
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. face — part of the head
  23. date — the fruit
  24. cell — in biology

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