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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a grade
  4. shower — rain
  5. chest — of your body
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wound — an injury
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. content — happy
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mark — a trace
  16. plane — a tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. chest — a box
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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