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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. craft — boats
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. file — a line of people
  7. content — happy
  8. file — a tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wound — an injury
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. craft — a skill
  19. file — a document
  20. content — the amount
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. hand — in cards

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