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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. content — happy
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. track — to keep track
  6. snap — to click
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. track — a song
  9. ball — a great time
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. track — a path
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ball — a dance
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. row — a line
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. stand — on your feet

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