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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: deal · mark · content · spring · mate · row · staff · file

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. spring — the season
  3. content — happy
  4. spring — a coil
  5. staff — employees
  6. mate — to breed
  7. staff — a stick
  8. spring — of water
  9. mark — a grade
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. file — a line of people
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. content — the amount
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mate — a friend
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. staff — employees

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