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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. capital — a city
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pop — music
  7. capital — money
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. rest — what's left
  10. content — the amount
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rest — a break
  15. rash — hasty
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rash — a series
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. rash — on the skin

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