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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. content — the amount
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bore — to drill
  9. degree — from a university
  10. net — for catching
  11. degree — an amount
  12. net — in sport
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bore — to tire
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. spring — the season
  17. pit — in a race
  18. degree — temperature
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. lie — to recline
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. net — after costs
  24. pit — a hole

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