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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 water is too ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fine — all right
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. board — a committee
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. board — to get on
  17. content — the amount
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. tube — the underground
  20. hand — in cards
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tube — a container
  23. content — happy
  24. fine — high quality

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