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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. bore — to drill
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bore — to tire
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rash — hasty
  12. land — a country
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rash — a series
  16. rush — hurry
  17. land — ground
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. content — the amount
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. land — to come down
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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