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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: kid · content · racket · clip · patient · bulb · face · staff

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bulb — for light
  7. kid — child
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. staff — employees
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. staff — a stick
  13. content — happy
  14. staff — employees
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. face — part of the head
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. bulb — for light
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kid — to tease
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. racket — a loud noise

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