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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She's very handy with 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. shower — rain
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to drill
  4. capital — a city
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mug — to rob
  7. content — happy
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. mug — a cup
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. shower — to wash
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mug — a face
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. capital — money
  21. content — the amount
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. saw — the tool
  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