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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 120 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. tear — from crying
  4. content — the amount
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tear — from crying
  7. season — of the year
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wax — to grow
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. content — happy
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. season — in sport
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. row — a line
  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