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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — a container
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. scale — size or range
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bore — to drill
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. date — the fruit
  16. pop — music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. content — happy
  20. bore — to tire
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. sharp — clever
  23. content — the amount
  24. scale — in music

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