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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wax — to grow
  5. object — an aim
  6. content — happy
  7. drill — a practice
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. object — a thing
  11. content — the amount
  12. squash — to crush
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. drill — army training
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. squash — the sport
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. squash — the vegetable

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