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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. sharp — clever
  11. ground — crushed
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. root — of a plant
  14. race — humankind
  15. root — the cause
  16. snap — to click
  17. ground — a position
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — a contest
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. root — of a word
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ground — the earth

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