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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. content — happy
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. season — in sport
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. content — the amount
  10. root — of a plant
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. can — to be able to
  16. root — the cause
  17. wax — to grow
  18. root — of a word
  19. pit — in a race
  20. season — of the year
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — to handle

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