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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cell — in biology
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. content — happy
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. ground — a position
  23. cell — a phone
  24. mark — to pay attention

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