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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. content — happy
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. content — the amount
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. root — of a plant
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. tear — to rip
  13. march — music
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. root — the cause
  16. wound — an injury
  17. march — the month
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. root — of a word
  20. tear — from crying
  21. march — the month
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wound — an injury

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