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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bore — to tire
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. shower — rain
  7. bat — the animal
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. bore — to drill
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. shower — to wash
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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