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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: land · ball · bound · wound · bore · snap · band · wax

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. land — to come down
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bound — certain
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bound — tied together
  10. band — a ring
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. land — a country
  15. bound — obliged
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bore — to tire
  21. band — a music group
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bore — to drill
  24. land — ground

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