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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. object — an aim
  3. object — to protest
  4. pit — in a race
  5. cold — not warm
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. content — happy
  10. kick — in football
  11. file — a document
  12. content — the amount
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. press — to push
  15. press — a publisher
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pit — a hole
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. press — newspapers
  22. file — a tool
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. patient — a sick person

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