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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 124 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fine — all right
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cold — an illness
  9. content — the amount
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. drill — a practice
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. content — happy
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. deal — to handle
  20. drill — army training
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. pitch — completely

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