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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: sharp · kick · content · file · roll · saw · chest · patient

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. saw — the tool
  6. kick — in football
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. roll — a cake
  9. chest — a box
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. chest — of your body
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. roll — a list
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. file — a line of people
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. content — the amount
  20. sharp — clever
  21. file — a tool
  22. content — happy
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. file — a document

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