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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. season — in sport
  3. lean — thin
  4. season — of the year
  5. lean — to bend
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. degree — from a university
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pit — in a race
  12. tube — a container
  13. content — happy
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. degree — temperature
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. hand — help
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. content — the amount
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — an amount
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. hand — in cards
  24. tube — the underground

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