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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. row — a line
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. saw — the tool
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. spell — magic
  15. kick — in football
  16. spell — a short time
  17. file — a line of people
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. content — the amount
  21. row — to paddle
  22. content — happy
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. spell — letters

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