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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. shower — rain
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bat — the animal
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rash — a series
  13. can — a tin
  14. content — happy
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — to grow
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. can — a tin
  23. wake — a trail
  24. content — videos and posts

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