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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 124 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. key — for a lock
  3. land — ground
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. key — in music
  6. perch — the fish
  7. rush — hurry
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. key — the most important part
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pop — music
  15. content — happy
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. content — the amount
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. land — a country
  22. pop — to visit
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. land — to come down

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