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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bore — to tire
  3. last — to go on
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. content — the amount
  8. face — to confront
  9. current — happening now
  10. row — a line
  11. content — happy
  12. current — electric
  13. last — finally
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bore — to drill
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. face — part of the head
  23. last — final
  24. current — of water

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