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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. roll — a cake
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. root — of a word
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tear — from crying
  10. content — the amount
  11. wind — moving air
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. root — the cause
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. tear — to rip
  22. root — of a plant
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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