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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wax · content · bulb · root · ground · ball · kid · bore

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. content — happy
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bulb — for light
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. root — of a word
  17. wax — to grow
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ground — a position
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bore — to tire
  23. root — the cause
  24. kid — child

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