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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: tube · patient · spring · drill · content · bound · wax · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wax — to grow
  4. spring — of water
  5. content — happy
  6. drill — a practice
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. drill — army training
  9. spring — a coil
  10. drill — the tool
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. content — the amount
  14. tube — a container
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. face — to point toward
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spring — the season

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