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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. mate — a partner
  4. content — the amount
  5. spell — magic
  6. face — to point toward
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. mate — a friend
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to confront
  13. cell — in biology
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cell — a phone
  16. spell — letters
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. content — happy
  19. track — a song
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — to grow
  22. spell — a short time
  23. track — a path
  24. saw — the tool

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