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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. content — happy
  4. key — for a lock
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. season — of the year
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mark — a grade
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. drill — army training
  14. content — the amount
  15. drill — a practice
  16. season — in sport
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. key — in music
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. drill — the tool
  22. key — the most important part
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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