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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pit — in a race
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. content — happy
  17. key — in music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. content — the amount
  21. key — the most important part
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pitcher — a jug

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