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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. content — happy
  6. spell — magic
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. march — the month
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. dip — to sink
  17. spell — letters
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. spell — a short time
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. content — the amount
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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