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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: wound · content · last · can · temple · lash · file · wind

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. can — a tin
  5. wound — an injury
  6. can — to be able to
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wound — an injury
  9. content — happy
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. last — finally
  15. file — a tool
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. can — a tin
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. lash — an eyelash

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