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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. content — happy
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. pop — music
  8. row — a line
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. toast — bread
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. pop — soda
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bore — to drill
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. mine — for digging
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bore — to tire

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