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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. content — the amount
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cap — of ice
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cold — an illness
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wound — an injury

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