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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. swing — music
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bore — to drill
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bore — to tire
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. cell — in biology
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. cell — a phone
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. dip — a sauce

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