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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 116 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mug — to rob
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mug — a cup
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. content — the amount
  8. pit — a hole
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. hand — in cards
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wax — to grow
  15. root — of a word
  16. degree — an amount
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. content — happy
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. mug — a face
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pit — in a race
  24. root — the cause

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