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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. charge — electricity
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. last — to go on
  5. charge — a price
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. perch — the fish
  8. last — final
  9. pound — a weight
  10. charge — in control
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. content — happy
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wax — to grow
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. last — finally

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