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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. spring — the season
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. game — a match
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spring — a coil
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. spring — of water
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cue — for pool
  12. tear — to rip
  13. content — the amount
  14. cue — a signal
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wax — to grow
  22. tear — from crying
  23. content — happy
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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