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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: arm · content · bass · kid · toast · bore · drill · bound

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. drill — a practice
  3. toast — bread
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. kid — child
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bound — obliged
  10. content — the amount
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bore — to drill
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bass — low music
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. drill — army training
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. bound — tied together
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bound — certain
  24. content — videos and posts

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