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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: bore · shower · wax · bulb · content · wind · row · snap

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a line
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bulb — for light
  7. shower — to wash
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — to drill
  14. content — the amount
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bulb — for light
  17. shower — rain
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to click

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