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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tear — from crying
  4. content — the amount
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bound — certain
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. wax — to grow
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. chest — a box
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pass — a permit
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. tear — from crying
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bound — obliged
  23. content — happy
  24. bound — tied together

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