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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. land — ground
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pop — to visit
  7. content — the amount
  8. pop — soda
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. land — a country
  12. cold — not warm
  13. content — happy
  14. pop — music
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. land — to come down
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. clip — a video
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. content — videos and posts

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