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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. kid — child
  4. fall — to drop
  5. content — happy
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. dip — to sink
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. fall — to drop
  12. last — to go on
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. fall — the season
  15. last — final
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cue — a hint
  18. content — the amount
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. cue — a signal
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cue — for pool
  24. last — finally

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