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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rule — a law
  7. mug — a face
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. wax — to grow
  11. spring — the season
  12. rule — government
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. mug — a cup
  16. dip — to sink
  17. spring — of water
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mug — to rob
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. last — finally
  23. tube — the underground
  24. dip — a sauce

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