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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bore — to tire
  7. saw — the tool
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. content — happy
  15. clip — for paper
  16. staff — a stick
  17. fork — in a road
  18. staff — employees
  19. bore — to drill
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — government
  23. clip — a video
  24. rule — a law

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