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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bore — to drill
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. court — for sport
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. net — in sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. content — happy
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bore — to tire
  19. date — the fruit
  20. net — after costs
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — government
  23. net — for catching
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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