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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bore — to tire
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bore — to drill
  13. game — a match
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. rush — hurry
  23. game — wild animals
  24. content — the amount

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