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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ball — a dance
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. staff — employees
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. staff — employees
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. staff — a stick
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. mark — a grade
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. ball — a great time
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mark — a trace
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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