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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. file — a tool
  3. land — to come down
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. rock — music
  10. content — happy
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. land — a country
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. file — a line of people
  17. content — the amount
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wound — an injury
  20. file — a document
  21. rock — a stone
  22. land — ground
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. patient — a sick person

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