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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bore — to drill
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bore — to tire
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. tear — to rip
  14. craft — a skill
  15. mate — a partner
  16. content — the amount
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — temperature
  21. content — happy
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bore — gave birth

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