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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. deal — an agreement
  2. bore — to tire
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. tube — a container
  8. cold — not warm
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. plane — a tool
  12. content — happy
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. deal — to handle
  22. content — the amount
  23. tube — the underground
  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