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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. present — there
  3. rock — a stone
  4. pop — to visit
  5. rock — music
  6. ground — a position
  7. track — a song
  8. cell — a phone
  9. present — the time now
  10. track — to keep track
  11. content — the amount
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. present — a gift
  16. wax — to grow
  17. pop — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. pop — soda
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ground — crushed
  24. track — a path

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