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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. wax — to grow
  4. content — the amount
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. kid — child
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rash — hasty
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rash — a series
  15. content — happy
  16. board — to get on
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to click
  19. board — a committee
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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