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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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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: lean · content · march · snap · hide · bore · wind · scale

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. march — the month
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. march — music
  9. lean — to bend
  10. content — happy
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. scale — size or range
  13. lean — thin
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bore — to drill
  18. march — the month
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. content — the amount
  23. scale — in music
  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