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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bore — to drill
  7. land — ground
  8. net — after costs
  9. bore — to tire
  10. content — happy
  11. land — to come down
  12. bear — the animal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. net — in sport
  15. charge — a price
  16. march — music
  17. land — a country
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. march — the month
  20. charge — electricity
  21. net — for catching
  22. content — the amount
  23. charge — in control
  24. march — the month

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