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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. sharp — clever
  3. last — finally
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ball — a dance
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bore — to tire
  9. ball — a great time
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bore — to drill
  12. chest — a box
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. chest — of your body
  15. last — to go on
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. content — the amount
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. last — final
  24. content — happy

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