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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. content — happy
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. kid — to tease
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. content — the amount
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. dip — to sink
  11. clip — for paper
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pound — a weight
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. clip — a video
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. kid — child

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