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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. court — of a king
  4. bore — to drill
  5. roll — a list
  6. roll — a cake
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. court — for sport
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wound — an injury
  12. content — happy
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bore — to tire
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. row — to paddle
  18. court — of law
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. row — a line
  24. content — videos and posts

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