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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. content — happy
  6. cue — a signal
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. content — the amount
  9. file — a tool
  10. shower — rain
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. season — in sport
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. season — of the year
  18. sharp — clever
  19. lean — thin
  20. file — a document
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. shower — to wash
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. file — a line of people

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