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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. mate — a friend
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. row — a line
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wax — to grow
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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