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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bore — to drill
  5. content — happy
  6. wound — an injury
  7. content — the amount
  8. wake — a trail
  9. spring — the season
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. spring — a coil
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. spring — of water
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wound — an injury
  24. nail — for a hammer

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