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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. tear — to rip
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. content — happy
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. tear — from crying
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. last — to go on
  17. rule — a law
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rule — government
  22. prune — to trim
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. nail — for a hammer

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