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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 116 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: tear · object · cell · tube · spring · content · fall · calf

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cell — a phone
  3. tube — the underground
  4. spring — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spring — a coil
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cell — in biology
  11. tear — to rip
  12. object — to protest
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. spring — of water
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — a thing
  23. tube — a container
  24. content — the amount

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