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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cold — an illness
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. spell — letters
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. content — the amount
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. spell — a short time
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. content — happy
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pitch — completely
  24. spell — magic

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