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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a ring
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. row — to paddle
  8. date — the fruit
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bore — to tire
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — to eat
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. row — a line
  15. present — the time now
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. present — a gift
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. band — a music group
  21. bore — to drill
  22. content — the amount
  23. present — there
  24. chip — in a computer

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