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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 · bass · mate · shower · bore · present · wake · game

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bore — to tire
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wake — a trail
  11. content — happy
  12. shower — rain
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bass — low music
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. content — the amount
  19. present — there
  20. bass — the fish
  21. present — a gift
  22. mate — a partner
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. present — the time now

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