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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. content — the amount
  3. object — to protest
  4. rule — a law
  5. object — a thing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — happy
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bore — to tire
  13. object — an aim
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bore — to drill
  21. craft — a skill
  22. craft — boats
  23. cold — not warm
  24. safe — a strongbox

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