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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. net — for catching
  3. last — final
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. content — happy
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. net — in sport
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. content — the amount
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. last — finally
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. last — to go on
  20. net — after costs
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. fall — to drop
  24. game — wild animals

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