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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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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. drill — a practice
  3. fork — in a road
  4. object — to protest
  5. drill — army training
  6. object — a thing
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. perch — the fish
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bass — low music
  14. wax — to grow
  15. object — an aim
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. content — the amount
  18. rash — hasty
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bass — the fish
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. fork — a garden tool

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