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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wax — to grow
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. content — happy
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stock — goods
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. land — ground
  11. fall — the season
  12. content — the amount
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — the earth
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. land — to come down
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. land — a country
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. squash — to crush
  23. fall — to drop
  24. ground — a position

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