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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. spring — of water
  5. foot — a measure
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. content — the amount
  13. rush — hurry
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. toast — bread
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. spring — a coil
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. spring — the season
  23. hand — help
  24. coach — a trainer

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