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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. content — happy
  4. wound — an injury
  5. net — in sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. net — for catching
  15. wound — an injury
  16. saw — the tool
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. toast — bread
  20. net — after costs
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. bore — to drill
  23. content — the amount
  24. bore — to tire

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