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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: tear · bound · tube · saw · field · bore · wax · cabinet

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bore — to tire
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tube — a container
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. saw — the tool
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. field — farmland
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bound — tied together
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bore — to drill
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bound — certain
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. field — for sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. field — a subject

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