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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. last — to go on
  5. content — happy
  6. fine — all right
  7. content — the amount
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cell — a phone
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. fine — high quality
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. last — final
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. last — finally
  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