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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. bore — to drill
  2. root — of a word
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. root — the cause
  9. bass — low music
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. content — happy
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. root — of a plant
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cell — a phone
  20. content — the amount
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. cell — in a prison
  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