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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 116 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. craft — a skill
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. fall — to drop
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. file — a tool
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. swing — music
  14. hand — help
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fall — the season
  20. craft — boats
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. wax — to grow
  24. coach — a trainer

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