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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. wax — to grow
  3. season — in sport
  4. bore — to drill
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — tied together
  9. clip — for paper
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wake — a trail
  19. season — of the year
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bore — to tire

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