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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. sharp — clever
  4. rule — government
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. content — happy
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. chest — a box
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rule — a law
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bat — the animal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mine — for digging
  22. content — the amount
  23. chest — of your body
  24. content — videos and posts

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