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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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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. content — happy
  3. mate — a friend
  4. rock — music
  5. spell — a short time
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — the amount
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. rock — a stone
  12. mate — a partner
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spell — magic
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spell — letters

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