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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. wind — moving air
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. sharp — clever
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bore — to drill
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. content — the amount
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bore — to tire
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — to be able to
  19. can — a tin
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. content — happy
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. wind — moving air

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