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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. foot — a measure
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. net — for catching
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. net — in sport
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. content — the amount
  20. net — after costs
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. bat — the animal

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