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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: snap · chair · content · court · drill · patient · mark · file

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. content — happy
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. content — the amount
  7. drill — army training
  8. file — a document
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. chair — a leader
  12. court — for sport
  13. file — a line of people
  14. drill — the tool
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. snap — to click
  17. mark — a trace
  18. court — of a king
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. court — of law
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. drill — a practice
  23. file — a tool
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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