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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bear — the animal
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. content — happy
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. tube — a container
  16. chest — of your body
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pitch — completely
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. content — the amount
  24. chest — a box

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