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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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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: march · wake · mine · content · saw · rule · stick · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. file — a document
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. mine — for digging
  9. content — happy
  10. march — music
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. content — the amount
  13. rule — government
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. march — the month
  18. wake — a trail
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. file — a tool
  21. rule — a law
  22. march — the month
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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