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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bore — to tire
  6. spell — magic
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. sharp — clever
  9. spring — the season
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spell — letters
  12. cold — not warm
  13. spell — a short time
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — a safe
  16. content — the amount
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. bore — to drill
  20. spring — of water
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. spring — a coil
  24. content — happy

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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