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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bore — to drill
  3. scale — size or range
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — the underground
  7. scale — in music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. tube — a container
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. content — happy
  17. file — a document
  18. content — the amount
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. file — a tool
  21. bore — to tire
  22. dip — to sink
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. content — videos and posts

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