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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. deal — to handle
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. can — to be able to
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. rash — a series
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. content — the amount
  14. clip — for paper
  15. content — happy
  16. can — a tin
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. can — a tin
  24. deal — a big deal

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