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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. last — final
  3. hand — help
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bore — to drill
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. court — of law
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. court — for sport
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. bore — to tire
  16. face — part of the head
  17. hand — in cards
  18. court — of a king
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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