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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. swing — music
  4. firm — steady
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. swing — in golf
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. firm — decided
  12. present — a gift
  13. firm — a company
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — to tire
  16. rest — a break
  17. content — the amount
  18. cold — not warm
  19. present — there
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. present — the time now
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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