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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bound — tied together
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. object — an aim
  6. game — a match
  7. hand — in cards
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. fall — the season
  16. hand — help
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. object — to protest
  20. dip — to sink
  21. fall — to drop
  22. game — wild animals
  23. fall — to drop
  24. dip — to dunk

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