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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. content — the amount
  3. kid — to tease
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. staff — employees
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. kid — child
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wake — a trail
  15. capital — money
  16. content — happy
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. spring — the season
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. capital — a city

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