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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. content — the amount
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. track — a song
  8. fine — all right
  9. game — a match
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mark — a grade
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. track — a path
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mark — a trace
  19. track — to keep track
  20. fine — high quality
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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