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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bound — obliged
  4. season — of the year
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. lean — thin
  7. bound — certain
  8. bore — to drill
  9. spell — magic
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — letters
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. season — in sport
  15. lean — to bend
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wind — moving air
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bound — tied together

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