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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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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 · wind · content · mark · bat · bear · cap · stick

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a grade
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bore — to tire
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bore — to drill
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. mark — a trace

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