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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · roll · mine · clip · bound · wax · date · content

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. roll — a list
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bound — certain
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kid — child
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. content — happy
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wax — to grow
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. roll — a cake
  24. mine — for digging

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