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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: wind · bulb · content · sharp · tear · march · bore · tube

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wind — moving air
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bore — to tire
  6. content — happy
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. tear — to rip
  9. march — the month
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bore — to drill
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — music
  20. content — the amount
  21. march — the month
  22. tube — a container
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. wind — to turn a key

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