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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. hand — help
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. wake — a trail
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. toast — bread
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. fall — to drop
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. fall — the season
  23. content — the amount
  24. patient — a sick person

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