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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 · trunk · rash · mine · bore · kid · stick · march

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. march — the month
  7. kid — child
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. march — music
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. march — the month
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. content — the amount
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bore — to drill
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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