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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. track — a song
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. foot — a measure
  10. track — to keep track
  11. kid — to tease
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. track — a path
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. kid — child
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. content — the amount
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rule — government
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rule — to rule out

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