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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. object — an aim
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. net — after costs
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. object — to protest
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wax — to grow
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. object — a thing
  17. squash — the sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. saw — the tool
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. net — in sport
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. content — happy
  24. content — the amount

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