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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. content — the amount
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. kid — child
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. content — happy
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. land — a country
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. hand — help
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. mouse — for a computer

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