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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: bat · chest · present · bore · drill · straw · content · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. content — the amount
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chest — a box
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. present — a gift
  10. bore — to drill
  11. present — the time now
  12. mark — a trace
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. drill — army training
  15. mark — a grade
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. content — happy
  18. present — there
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bore — to tire
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bat — the animal

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