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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. drill — the tool
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. content — happy
  6. present — there
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. drill — a practice
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. drill — army training
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cell — a phone
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. content — the amount
  16. cell — in biology
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. present — the time now
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. present — a gift
  24. fork — in a road

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