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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. spring — a coil
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. face — to point toward
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. content — the amount
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. chip — to eat
  11. content — happy
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. spring — of water
  17. face — to confront
  18. hand — in cards
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. chip — for betting
  21. spring — the season
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. hand — help
  24. face — part of the head

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