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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fork — in a road
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cell — a phone
  15. content — happy
  16. object — an aim
  17. cell — in biology
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — to protest
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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