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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · bore · content · craft · file · mouse · pit · kid

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. bore — to drill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. content — happy
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. content — the amount
  15. craft — boats
  16. bore — to tire
  17. degree — temperature
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. craft — a skill
  21. pit — a hole
  22. kid — child
  23. file — a document
  24. kid — to tease

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