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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — obliged
  6. file — a document
  7. shower — rain
  8. wax — to grow
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. content — the amount
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. rush — hurry
  19. content — happy
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bound — certain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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