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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. spring — the season
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kid — to tease
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spring — of water
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. kid — child
  10. content — happy
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cell — a phone
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. saw — the tool
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cell — in biology
  24. content — the amount

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