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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cell — in biology
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bore — to drill
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the sport
  23. ball — a dance
  24. wax — in the ear

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