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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mate — a friend
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. deal — to handle
  13. content — the amount
  14. mate — to breed
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. tube — a container
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. content — happy

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