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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 120 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. degree — an amount
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. content — happy
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mark — a trace
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wax — to grow
  18. degree — temperature
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wake — a trail
  23. snap — to click
  24. degree — from a university

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