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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. bore — to drill
  4. content — happy
  5. court — of law
  6. last — final
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. last — to go on
  11. lean — thin
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bark — to shout
  14. last — finally
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. content — the amount
  19. court — for sport
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. court — of a king
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bore — gave birth

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