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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: kid · march · cell · bore · wax · bound · current · fall

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. march — the month
  3. current — happening now
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bound — obliged
  6. kid — to tease
  7. current — electric
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wax — to grow
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bound — tied together
  13. current — of water
  14. kid — child
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bore — to drill
  18. march — music
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. fall — the season

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