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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. spell — a short time
  3. sharp — clever
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. spell — magic
  6. rest — what's left
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spell — letters
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. stand — to bear
  15. rest — a break
  16. content — happy
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. content — the amount
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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