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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. content — happy
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bound — obliged
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wax — to grow
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rest — what's left
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bore — to drill
  15. hand — help
  16. bound — certain
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bound — tied together
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. content — the amount
  21. rest — a break
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bore — to tire

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