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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. file — a tool
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. rock — music
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. net — for catching
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bore — to tire
  10. land — ground
  11. rock — a stone
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. net — after costs
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. net — in sport
  21. content — happy
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bore — to drill

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