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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. file — a line of people
  5. mark — a grade
  6. swing — music
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a trace
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cell — a phone
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. file — a tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. rash — hasty
  20. file — a document
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. swing — to play on
  23. rash — a series
  24. cell — in biology

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