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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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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. march — the month
  3. content — happy
  4. kid — child
  5. last — to go on
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. last — final
  11. content — the amount
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. lie — to recline
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pound — a weight
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. last — finally
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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