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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: bore · dip · march · content · firm · rock · patient · spell

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. firm — steady
  3. march — music
  4. firm — decided
  5. content — the amount
  6. march — the month
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. firm — a company
  11. rock — a stone
  12. dip — to sink
  13. bore — to drill
  14. march — the month
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bore — to tire
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rock — music
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. spell — letters
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spell — magic

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