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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. content — the amount
  5. object — to protest
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — all right
  10. dip — to sink
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. object — an aim
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. object — a thing
  20. content — happy
  21. wind — moving air
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wind — to turn a key

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