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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. land — ground
  5. file — a tool
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. court — for sport
  9. bore — to drill
  10. land — to come down
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. content — the amount
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. file — a line of people
  17. court — of a king
  18. land — a country
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. file — a document
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — of law
  24. lie — to recline

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