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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — an aim
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — the fruit
  11. content — the amount
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rash — a series
  14. content — happy
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bore — to tire
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. object — a thing
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. nail — for a hammer

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