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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: bore · suit · club · lie · kid · face · dip · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. club — for dancing
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. content — the amount
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. club — a group
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. suit — to fit
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. suit — clothes
  15. face — to point toward
  16. kid — to tease
  17. face — to confront
  18. lie — to recline
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. face — part of the head
  21. dip — to sink
  22. suit — in cards
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. club — for golf

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