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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bore — to drill
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bore — to tire
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. content — happy
  13. date — the fruit
  14. last — final
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. content — the amount
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. last — to go on
  21. root — the cause
  22. last — finally
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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