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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. game — a match
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. content — the amount
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. content — happy
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chest — of your body
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rash — a series
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. prune — to trim
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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