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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. file — a tool
  3. mark — a grade
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. present — there
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — a gift
  11. can — to be able to
  12. file — a document
  13. land — ground
  14. file — a line of people
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. can — a tin
  17. content — the amount
  18. land — to come down
  19. content — happy
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. can — a tin
  23. hand — in cards
  24. land — a country

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