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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. pound — a weight
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. present — the time now
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — the animal
  13. squash — the sport
  14. content — happy
  15. rock — a stone
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. squash — to crush
  18. present — a gift
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. present — there
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. content — the amount

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