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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.

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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — happy
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. land — a country
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. land — to come down
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. scale — size or range
  11. chest — a box
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. content — the amount
  14. game — a match
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. game — wild animals
  19. land — ground
  20. fine — high quality
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fine — all right
  23. scale — in music
  24. pit — in a race

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