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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. content — happy
  3. face — to confront
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. tube — a container
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. present — there
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bore — to tire
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bore — to drill
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. dip — to sink
  18. face — to point toward
  19. tube — the underground
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. content — the amount
  24. face — part of the head

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