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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. wind — moving air
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. current — electric
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. rash — hasty
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wax — to grow
  15. current — of water
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rash — a series
  19. squash — to crush
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. dip — to sink
  22. wind — moving air
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. current — happening now

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