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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wound — an injury
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spring — the season
  12. cell — a phone
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. field — farmland
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. field — a subject
  20. content — happy
  21. field — for sport
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cabinet — ministers

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