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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. content — happy
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. march — music
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bound — certain
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bound — tied together
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. march — the month
  15. bound — obliged
  16. wax — to grow
  17. content — the amount
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. lean — thin
  24. march — the month

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