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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.

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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. content — the amount
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. staff — employees
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. staff — a stick
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. staff — employees
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. chest — a box

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