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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  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. kid — child
  2. track — a song
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. drill — army training
  8. file — a line of people
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. file — a tool
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a path
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. content — happy
  20. content — the amount
  21. file — a document
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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