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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. object — an aim
  5. mark — a trace
  6. object — to protest
  7. shower — to wash
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. object — a thing
  20. net — in sport
  21. shower — rain
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lie — to recline
  24. mark — a grade

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