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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 124 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. bore — to tire
  2. degree — an amount
  3. march — the month
  4. degree — temperature
  5. file — a document
  6. bore — to drill
  7. content — the amount
  8. file — a line of people
  9. march — music
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. chip — to eat
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. pound — a weight
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. file — a tool
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. march — the month
  23. chip — for betting
  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