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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. rest — a break
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. degree — from a university
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. content — happy
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — temperature
  12. track — a song
  13. rest — what's left
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. content — the amount
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. track — a path
  21. track — to keep track
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rest — what's left

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