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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. drill — army training
  3. bore — to drill
  4. pop — music
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. pop — to visit
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. drill — the tool
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. last — to go on
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. content — happy
  15. wound — an injury
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bore — to tire
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mine — for digging
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pop — soda

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