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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pit — in a race
  4. rock — music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. rock — a stone
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. content — happy
  12. pit — a hole
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. rash — hasty
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fine — all right
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fine — high quality
  22. kid — child
  23. content — the amount
  24. rash — a series

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