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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cold — not warm
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cold — an illness
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bore — to tire
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. press — to push
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. content — happy
  24. bowl — a dish

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