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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. season — of the year
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. game — a match
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. staff — a stick
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cold — an illness
  14. content — happy
  15. staff — employees
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. staff — employees
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chair — a leader
  23. season — in sport
  24. tube — a container

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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