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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 116 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: kid · trunk · stick · land · ball · content · last · patient

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. land — ground
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. last — finally
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. ball — a great time
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. last — final
  15. ball — a dance
  16. last — to go on
  17. land — to come down
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. kid — to tease
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. land — a country

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