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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. content — the amount
  4. tube — a container
  5. spring — the season
  6. land — to come down
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stand — to bear
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. land — a country
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. tube — the underground
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. land — ground
  23. spring — of water
  24. foot — a measure

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