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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 116 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pop — soda
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — to drill
  7. cell — in biology
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pop — music
  11. band — a ring
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. band — a music group
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cell — a phone
  20. content — the amount
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. clip — for paper
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. clip — a video

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