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

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cell — a phone
  4. drill — army training
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. content — the amount
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cell — in biology
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. content — happy
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bear — the animal
  24. leaves — of a tree

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