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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mate — a friend
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. chest — a box
  12. land — ground
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bore — to tire
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. land — a country
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chest — of your body
  19. land — to come down
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. mate — to breed
  24. content — videos and posts

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