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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cue — a hint
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. spring — the season
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cue — for pool
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cue — a signal
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — to drill
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. content — happy
  21. spring — of water
  22. content — the amount
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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