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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. board — a committee
  7. pound — a weight
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. board — to get on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. land — to come down
  16. cell — in biology
  17. last — final
  18. content — the amount
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. last — to go on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. last — finally
  24. cell — a phone

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