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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 116 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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — in a race
  6. content — happy
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rash — hasty
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pit — a hole
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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