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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 120 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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. content — happy
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. content — the amount
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. spell — letters
  10. last — to go on
  11. spell — a short time
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. firm — steady
  16. last — final
  17. firm — decided
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. last — finally
  20. spell — magic
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. firm — a company

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