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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. mug — a face
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. content — the amount
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. swing — to play on
  12. stem — to come from
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. band — a ring
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. mug — to rob
  22. band — a music group
  23. fork — in a road
  24. patient — a sick person

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