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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 116 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. degree — an amount
  3. content — happy
  4. degree — from a university
  5. content — the amount
  6. pit — a hole
  7. charge — a price
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. charge — electricity
  11. face — to point toward
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. bound — obliged
  14. face — part of the head
  15. charge — in control
  16. craft — a skill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bound — certain
  19. face — to confront
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bore — to drill
  23. pit — in a race
  24. craft — boats

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