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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 a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. board — a committee
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. content — the amount
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. content — happy
  8. bore — to drill
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bore — to tire
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. file — a document
  18. kick — in football
  19. hand — help
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. file — a tool
  23. cold — not warm
  24. kick — a thrill

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