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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. kid — child
  4. staff — employees
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. content — happy
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cap — a lid
  14. plane — a tool
  15. cap — a hat
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. kid — to tease
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bear — the animal
  21. staff — a stick
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. staff — employees
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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