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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. chest — a box
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. rush — hurry
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. content — the amount
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. saw — the tool
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — a company
  15. firm — steady
  16. content — happy
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. patient — a sick person

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