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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. content — happy
  3. bore — to drill
  4. can — a tin
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. can — to be able to
  10. snap — to click
  11. wound — an injury
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spell — letters
  16. can — a tin
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. perch — the fish
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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