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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bore — to drill
  3. can — to be able to
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pop — music
  6. can — a tin
  7. pop — soda
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. content — the amount
  11. bore — to tire
  12. kid — child
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. can — a tin
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. mark — a trace
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mark — a grade
  21. clip — a video
  22. pop — to visit
  23. clip — for paper
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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