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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fall — the season
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. drill — the tool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mark — a grade
  9. hand — help
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mark — a trace
  12. drill — a practice
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. craft — a skill
  16. hand — in cards
  17. drill — army training
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. capital — a city
  23. craft — boats
  24. fall — to drop

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