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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spring — of water
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. spring — the season
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spring — a coil
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. content — happy
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. row — a line
  16. content — the amount
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wax — to grow
  24. content — videos and posts

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