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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: kid · pop · cold · content · plane · bore · court · chip

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. chip — to eat
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to tire
  5. chip — for betting
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. cold — an illness
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — to visit
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bore — to drill
  14. kid — child
  15. cold — not warm
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. content — the amount
  19. court — of law
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. pop — music
  23. kid — to tease
  24. plane — in geometry

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