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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: toast · hide · wound · content · scale · patient · fine · chest

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. content — happy
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chest — a box
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. chest — of your body
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chest — of your body
  9. toast — bread
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fine — high quality
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. content — the amount
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fine — a penalty

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