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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. fine — high quality
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — a contest
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. content — happy
  10. hand — in cards
  11. press — to push
  12. race — humankind
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. content — the amount
  15. press — a publisher
  16. fine — all right
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. race — the arms race
  23. foot — a measure
  24. press — newspapers

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