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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — to drill
  7. chest — a box
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cue — for pool
  10. chest — of your body
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. chest — of your body
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — the amount
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cue — a hint
  19. content — happy
  20. snap — to click
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — soda
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pop — to visit

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