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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. cell — in biology
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. cue — a signal
  18. net — for catching
  19. cue — for pool
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. degree — from a university
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. content — the amount

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