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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. face — to point toward
  7. content — the amount
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bat — the animal
  10. content — happy
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mate — to breed
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a trace
  17. face — to confront
  18. wax — to grow
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — a partner
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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