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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ruler · content · patient · race · club · calf

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. club — for golf
  3. race — a contest
  4. club — for dancing
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. content — the amount
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. race — humankind
  12. club — a group
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring

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