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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wind — moving air
  5. band — a ring
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. club — for golf
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — child
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. content — the amount
  15. wax — to grow
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. scale — size or range
  18. club — a group
  19. kid — to tease
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. content — happy
  22. scale — in music
  23. ball — a great time
  24. club — for dancing

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