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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bore — to drill
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wound — an injury
  11. content — the amount
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bore — to tire
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. kick — in football
  16. fork — in a road
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. racket — for tennis

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