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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. roll — a cake
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. roll — a list
  5. content — the amount
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bound — certain
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. field — a subject
  12. bound — obliged
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. content — happy
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wind — moving air
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bore — gave birth

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