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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kid — child
  3. snap — to click
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. last — to go on
  8. can — to be able to
  9. content — the amount
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. can — a tin
  12. content — happy
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. last — final
  15. can — a tin
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mark — a trace
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. kid — to tease
  21. chair — a leader
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. mark — a grade

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