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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. content — the amount
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. charge — electricity
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. charge — a price
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. charge — in control
  11. content — happy
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pass — a permit
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wax — in the ear

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