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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. content — the amount
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a committee
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pop — soda
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bore — to drill
  18. staff — a stick
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bore — to tire
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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