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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. club — for dancing
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. saw — the tool
  12. last — finally
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. last — final
  16. saw — the tool
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. patient — a sick person

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