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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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. shower — rain
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. current — happening now
  8. shower — to wash
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cold — an illness
  14. current — of water
  15. content — the amount
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. content — happy
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. current — electric
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. arm — part of the body

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