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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. date — the fruit
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. net — after costs
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bore — to drill
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. cap — a hat
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. net — in sport
  16. cap — of ice
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. content — the amount
  20. bore — to tire
  21. net — for catching
  22. staff — employees
  23. cap — a lid
  24. arm — part of the body

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