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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. can — a tin
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. court — for sport
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. can — a tin
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. ground — a position
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. court — of law
  18. bat — the animal
  19. can — to be able to
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. content — the amount
  22. wax — to grow
  23. court — of a king
  24. wax — for sculpting

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