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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. rest — a break
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. spring — the season
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chip — for betting
  10. rest — what's left
  11. swing — to play on
  12. spring — a coil
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pitch — completely
  15. rest — what's left
  16. spring — of water
  17. swing — in golf
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. content — happy
  21. row — a line
  22. content — the amount
  23. swing — music
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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