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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. hand — help
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bear — the animal
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bear — the animal
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. vault — a safe
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. vault — in gymnastics

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