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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. deal — to handle
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. drill — army training
  7. bore — to tire
  8. clip — to cut
  9. content — happy
  10. bass — low music
  11. clip — for paper
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to drill
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to confront
  18. chest — of your body
  19. clip — a video
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. drill — the tool
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. content — the amount

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