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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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Word bank
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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: bear · jam · land · pitcher · patient · tube · trunk · content

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. tube — a container
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. content — the amount
  6. land — ground
  7. content — happy
  8. land — a country
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. tube — the underground
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. jam — in traffic

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