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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  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. content — happy
  2. bear — the animal
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bore — to tire
  8. swing — music
  9. bound — certain
  10. bore — to drill
  11. kid — child
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. bear — the animal
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. swing — in golf
  17. content — the amount
  18. swing — to play on
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. kid — to tease
  23. leaves — to go away
  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