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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bore — to tire
  3. mate — a friend
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bore — to drill
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. hand — help
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cap — a hat
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mine — for digging
  16. content — the amount
  17. mate — a partner
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. mate — to breed
  22. saw — the tool
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cap — a lid

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