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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: chair · content · band · pop · spring · wake · date · bore

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spring — of water
  4. band — a ring
  5. bore — to tire
  6. date — the fruit
  7. spring — the season
  8. pop — music
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pop — to visit
  13. chair — a leader
  14. content — happy
  15. band — a music group
  16. content — the amount
  17. wake — a trail
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bore — to drill
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. pop — soda
  24. band — a rubber band

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