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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. can — a tin
  6. content — happy
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. wax — to grow
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. can — to be able to
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bound — tied together
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. can — a tin
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. content — the amount
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. ruler — for measuring

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