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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mate — a partner
  5. content — happy
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. content — the amount
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bore — to drill
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bore — to tire
  18. mate — to breed
  19. roll — a list
  20. chest — of your body
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — on a roll

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