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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 116 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. charge — electricity
  3. field — for sport
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bore — to drill
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. charge — a price
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cell — a phone
  11. field — farmland
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. charge — in control
  15. cell — in biology
  16. content — happy
  17. root — of a word
  18. field — a subject
  19. mark — a trace
  20. content — the amount
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mark — a grade
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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