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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bore · stock · hide · scale · content · mate · band

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bore — to drill
  6. band — a ring
  7. content — happy
  8. stock — goods
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — to tease
  11. band — a music group
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. mate — a friend
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. kid — child
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. mate — to breed
  22. content — the amount
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. scale — in 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