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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: tear · wound · kid · lie · content · patient · wake · craft

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. content — the amount
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tear — from crying
  6. content — happy
  7. kid — child
  8. wound — an injury
  9. craft — boats
  10. tear — from crying
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — to tease
  13. lie — to recline
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — a skill
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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