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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wax — to grow
  9. swing — music
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. saw — the tool
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wind — moving air
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. swing — to play on
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. content — the amount
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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