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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. lean — to bend
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. board — a committee
  6. squash — the sport
  7. lean — thin
  8. board — to get on
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. chest — a box
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. content — happy
  16. deal — to handle
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. squash — to crush
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — the amount
  24. lean — to rest against

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