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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. content — happy
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. content — the amount
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. face — part of the head
  8. spring — a coil
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. spring — of water
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rest — what's left
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rest — a break
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mark — a grade
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. spring — the season
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. mark — a trace

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