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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: land · content · saw · ball · patient · row · bear · nail

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. row — a line
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. ball — a dance
  10. row — to paddle
  11. land — ground
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bear — the animal
  16. content — the amount
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. ball — a great time
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. saw — the tool
  23. content — happy
  24. nail — on a finger

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