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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. content — the amount
  6. face — part of the head
  7. content — happy
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wax — to grow
  10. deal — to handle
  11. dip — to sink
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. face — to point toward
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. face — to confront
  24. dip — a sauce

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