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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. content — the amount
  3. bore — to drill
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. field — a subject
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. season — in sport
  14. field — for sport
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. fall — the season
  19. mine — for digging
  20. content — happy
  21. fall — to drop
  22. field — farmland
  23. season — of the year
  24. sharp — clever

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