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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. ground — crushed
  3. content — the amount
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. content — happy
  10. key — in music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. squash — the sport
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. scale — size or range
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. key — the most important part
  21. wax — to grow
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. scale — in music

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