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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cue — for pool
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cue — a hint
  7. content — happy
  8. bark — to shout
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — magic
  12. march — the month
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. kid — child
  15. cue — a signal
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. spell — a short time
  19. stem — to come from
  20. march — music
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. content — the amount
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. march — the month

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