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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. kid — to tease
  6. march — the month
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. march — music
  12. bore — to drill
  13. march — the month
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bore — to tire
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. kid — child
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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