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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: date · content · file · tube · bore · ruler · lean · kid

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — to drill
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. lean — to bend
  7. tube — the underground
  8. date — the fruit
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. tube — a container
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. file — a document
  13. lean — thin
  14. kid — child
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a line of people
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. file — a tool
  24. ruler — for measuring

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