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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bore — to tire
  3. cap — a hat
  4. stock — goods
  5. bore — to drill
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cap — of ice
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — for digging
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cap — a lid
  14. content — happy
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. content — the amount
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. date — the fruit
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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