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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wax — to grow
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. content — the amount
  5. rush — hurry
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. spell — a short time
  9. roll — a cake
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. spell — letters
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spell — magic
  17. content — happy
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. roll — a list
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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