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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. date — the fruit
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. content — the amount
  8. pitch — completely
  9. perch — the fish
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cold — not warm
  16. current — electric
  17. bore — to drill
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cold — an illness
  21. current — happening now
  22. content — happy
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. current — of water

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