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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fine — high quality
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fine — all right
  10. court — for sport
  11. pit — a hole
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. content — happy
  16. court — of a king
  17. pit — in a race
  18. kid — child
  19. court — of law
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. saw — the tool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. sharp — clever
  24. content — the amount

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