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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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Word bank
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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: content · bat · march · bay · rock · bore · roll · spell

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. content — happy
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. spell — letters
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bore — to drill
  11. rock — music
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. spell — a short time
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. roll — a list
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. rock — a stone
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. spell — magic
  24. content — the amount

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