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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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. staff — employees
  4. drill — the tool
  5. charge — electricity
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wind — moving air
  8. charge — in control
  9. staff — a stick
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. staff — employees
  15. content — the amount
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. charge — a price
  18. drill — a practice
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. drill — army training
  24. wind — moving air

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