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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bound — obliged
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pop — music
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pop — soda
  12. bound — certain
  13. pop — to visit
  14. content — the amount
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — for money
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bore — to tire
  21. rash — a series
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bank — of a river
  24. content — videos and posts

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