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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 · spell · bore · fork · kid · chair · rock · sharp

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kid — to tease
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bore — to drill
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. content — happy
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — clever
  13. spell — magic
  14. content — the amount
  15. fork — in a road
  16. spell — letters
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to tire
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. kid — child
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. rock — music
  24. spell — a short time

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