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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bear — the animal
  6. band — a ring
  7. bear — the animal
  8. content — happy
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pop — soda
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chair — a leader
  14. content — the amount
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pop — music
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. court — for sport
  20. band — a music group
  21. court — of a king
  22. pop — to visit
  23. court — of law
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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