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

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. pit — a hole
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. drill — the tool
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. content — happy
  13. clip — to cut
  14. drill — a practice
  15. land — ground
  16. bore — to tire
  17. mate — to breed
  18. land — to come down
  19. rush — hurry
  20. bore — to drill
  21. pit — in a race
  22. clip — a video
  23. drill — army training
  24. clip — for paper

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