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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. rest — a break
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chip — for betting
  5. cold — not warm
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bore — to tire
  9. chip — to eat
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pit — in a race
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pit — a hole
  16. spell — magic
  17. content — happy
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. rest — what's left
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bore — to drill
  23. spell — letters
  24. chip — in a computer

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