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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. face — to confront
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. spring — a coil
  6. chip — to eat
  7. spring — of water
  8. face — to point toward
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. kid — child
  11. bore — to tire
  12. court — of a king
  13. spring — the season
  14. face — part of the head
  15. content — happy
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kid — to tease
  18. saw — the tool
  19. content — the amount
  20. bore — to drill
  21. chip — for betting
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. bore — gave birth

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