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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. spell — magic
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. rule — a law
  9. bore — to drill
  10. content — the amount
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. content — happy
  13. spell — a short time
  14. capital — money
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. capital — a city
  20. cell — a phone
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. spell — letters
  24. tube — a container

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