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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. ball — a great time
  3. content — happy
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. lean — thin
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chip — to eat
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. squash — to crush
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. chip — for betting
  19. ball — a dance
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. nail — on a finger

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