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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bore — to tire
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. content — the amount
  6. row — a line
  7. mug — to rob
  8. content — happy
  9. date — the fruit
  10. row — to paddle
  11. tear — to rip
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. court — for sport
  14. ball — a dance
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. court — of a king
  20. bore — to drill
  21. court — of law
  22. mug — a cup
  23. mug — a face
  24. tear — from crying

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