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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. hand — help
  3. net — in sport
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. hand — in cards
  7. net — after costs
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. saw — the tool
  10. content — happy
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. content — the amount
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. net — for catching
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pass — a permit
  21. wax — to grow
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — the underground

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