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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. march — the month
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. bore — to tire
  7. chest — a box
  8. content — the amount
  9. march — the month
  10. content — happy
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. band — a music group
  14. march — music
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wax — to grow
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. chest — of your body
  22. band — a ring
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bore — to drill

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