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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cell — a phone
  4. craft — a skill
  5. content — the amount
  6. mate — to breed
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. content — happy
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bore — to tire
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. craft — boats
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bore — to drill
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. chip — for betting
  24. tear — to rip

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