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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ground — crushed
  4. club — for golf
  5. land — to come down
  6. ground — the earth
  7. land — a country
  8. ground — a position
  9. land — ground
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. present — a gift
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. club — a group
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. deal — to handle
  22. present — the time now
  23. content — happy
  24. club — for dancing

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