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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. bat — the animal
  6. prune — to trim
  7. can — a tin
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kid — to tease
  12. can — to be able to
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. can — a tin
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kid — child
  20. squash — the sport
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. prune — the fruit

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