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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: bore · content · coach · wind · fall · bat · temple · row

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bore — to drill
  4. fall — to drop
  5. row — a line
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bore — to tire
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. content — happy
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wind — moving air
  14. content — the amount
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fall — the season
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. coach — a trainer

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