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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 120 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. content — happy
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. face — to confront
  6. cold — an illness
  7. face — part of the head
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. content — the amount
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. rest — what's left
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. rest — a break
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wake — a trail

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