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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. content — happy
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. content — the amount
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bore — to tire
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bore — to drill
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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