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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. pop — to visit
  11. court — of a king
  12. wake — a trail
  13. court — of law
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pop — music
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. court — for sport
  18. pop — soda
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. content — the amount
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. fork — in a road

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