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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 · cell · kid · last · mug · mark · bore · clip

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bore — to tire
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mark — a trace
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kid — to tease
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. last — to go on
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mark — a grade
  16. clip — a video
  17. cell — a phone
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bore — to drill
  20. mug — a face
  21. last — final
  22. kid — child
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. last — finally

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