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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. saw — the tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. perch — the fish
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. file — a tool
  11. cell — in biology
  12. file — a line of people
  13. content — happy
  14. file — a document
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stock — goods
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stock — shares
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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