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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 116 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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. can — a tin
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. swing — to play on
  5. drill — a practice
  6. can — to be able to
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. season — in sport
  9. bound — certain
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. can — a tin
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bark — to shout
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bore — to tire
  18. season — of the year
  19. bore — to drill
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. drill — army training
  23. swing — music
  24. bound — tied together

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