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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bore — to drill
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. club — for dancing
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. fall — to drop
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bore — to tire
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. club — a group
  14. fall — to drop
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. kid — child
  17. content — happy
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fall — the season
  21. club — for golf
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. bore — gave birth

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