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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bore — to drill
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. spell — magic
  5. can — a tin
  6. bore — to tire
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pass — a permit
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spell — letters
  16. can — a tin
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. can — to be able to
  19. content — happy
  20. cold — not warm
  21. clip — a video
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pass — to succeed

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