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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rock — music
  11. content — the amount
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. firm — steady
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. firm — a company
  19. fork — in a road
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mine — for digging
  22. firm — decided
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. mine — belonging to me

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