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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. game — a match
  4. file — a tool
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. content — the amount
  7. can — a tin
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. file — a document
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wind — moving air
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. can — a tin
  23. content — happy
  24. court — of a king

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