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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wind — moving air
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. plane — a tool
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cell — a phone
  19. dip — to sink
  20. content — the amount
  21. cell — in biology
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wind — moving air

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