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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: mate · bark · bore · content · bass · drill · cap · kid

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. drill — army training
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. content — the amount
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a lid
  13. mate — to breed
  14. kid — child
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. content — happy
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bass — the fish
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bass — low music

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