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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. ball — a dance
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. squash — to crush
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bore — to drill
  9. pop — soda
  10. bore — to tire
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pop — to visit
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. squash — the sport
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ball — a great time
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pop — music
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. kid — child
  24. sharp — clever

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