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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. mine — for digging
  5. scale — in music
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. tear — from crying
  12. content — happy
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. scale — size or range
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. deal — to handle
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. tear — from crying

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