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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. cold — not warm
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. sharp — clever
  6. content — the amount
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pass — a permit
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. content — happy
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. temple — side of the head
  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