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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. key — in music
  3. content — happy
  4. rest — a break
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. spring — of water
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. lean — to bend
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spring — the season
  11. chair — a leader
  12. rest — what's left
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wax — to grow
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — the most important part
  19. content — the amount
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chair — a professorship

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