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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fine — high quality
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pound — a weight
  6. kid — child
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wound — an injury
  9. content — the amount
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. content — happy
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. kid — to tease
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. current — of water
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fine — all right
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wound — an injury

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