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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. land — a country
  4. shower — to wash
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. shower — rain
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. content — happy
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. root — of a word
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. land — to come down
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. land — ground
  18. root — of a plant
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. root — the cause
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. content — the amount
  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