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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. scale — for weighing
  2. content — happy
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. current — of water
  6. snap — to click
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. scale — in music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. scale — size or range
  12. content — the amount
  13. current — happening now
  14. tube — a container
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. tube — the underground
  17. current — electric
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fork — in a road
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. game — a match
  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