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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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468
Word bank
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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. track — a path
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. track — a song
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. track — to keep track
  10. kick — in football
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. staff — employees
  18. content — the amount
  19. staff — employees
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cell — in biology
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — moving air
  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