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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. content — the amount
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. mate — to breed
  7. clip — a video
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. rash — a series
  11. mate — a friend
  12. row — a line
  13. ground — crushed
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. row — to paddle
  16. mate — a partner
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rash — hasty
  19. ground — a position
  20. prune — to trim
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. content — happy
  24. prune — the fruit

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