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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. file — a document
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. chair — a leader
  12. content — the amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. spell — a short time
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. spell — magic
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. fall — the season
  21. spell — letters
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. content — happy

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