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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. present — there
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. field — farmland
  13. file — a tool
  14. rock — music
  15. wake — a trail
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rock — a stone
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. file — a document
  20. present — a gift
  21. content — the amount
  22. file — a line of people
  23. present — the time now
  24. bore — to tire

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