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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. saw — the tool
  5. land — ground
  6. date — the fruit
  7. content — the amount
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. hand — in cards
  10. content — happy
  11. wax — to grow
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wound — an injury
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. wound — an injury
  18. saw — the tool
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. deal — to handle

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