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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: perch · date · sharp · bore · cell · wax · ground · bound

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bound — certain
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cell — in biology
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wax — to grow
  9. date — the fruit
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bound — obliged
  14. perch — the fish
  15. ground — a position
  16. bound — tied together
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bore — to tire
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cell — a phone

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