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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bore — to tire
  6. band — a ring
  7. content — the amount
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. current — happening now
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cell — a phone
  15. clip — to cut
  16. current — electric
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. clip — a video
  19. current — of water
  20. stand — to bear
  21. cell — in biology
  22. content — happy
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. cell — in a prison

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