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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bore — to tire
  3. can — a tin
  4. content — happy
  5. can — to be able to
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. cold — not warm
  17. content — the amount
  18. can — a tin
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. band — a ring
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bore — to drill
  24. safe — out of danger

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