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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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. band — a music group
  6. root — the cause
  7. bat — the animal
  8. root — of a plant
  9. branch — a division
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. row — a line
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bore — to drill
  18. root — of a word
  19. kid — child
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. content — happy
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. kid — to tease
  24. band — a ring

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