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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. land — to come down
  4. content — the amount
  5. chair — a leader
  6. land — ground
  7. hand — in cards
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. swing — music
  12. hand — help
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. swing — to play on
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. content — happy
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lie — to recline
  22. swing — in golf
  23. land — a country
  24. content — videos and posts

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