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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. last — finally
  4. content — happy
  5. firm — decided
  6. rock — music
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. firm — steady
  9. content — the amount
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. rock — a stone
  16. hand — in cards
  17. firm — a company
  18. hand — help
  19. last — to go on
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. last — final
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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