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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cell — in biology
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — to go on
  9. cell — a phone
  10. content — happy
  11. last — final
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. content — the amount
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. bear — the animal
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. last — finally
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. snap — to click
  24. bear — to put up with

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