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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wax — to grow
  4. deal — to handle
  5. fine — all right
  6. content — the amount
  7. cue — a signal
  8. fine — high quality
  9. court — for sport
  10. net — in sport
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fork — in a road
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. court — of a king
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. content — happy
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. court — of law

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