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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bank — for money
  3. last — finally
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. march — music
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — to drill
  11. march — the month
  12. bank — for money
  13. pop — music
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. content — happy
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. pop — soda

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