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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. track — a song
  3. track — to keep track
  4. squash — to crush
  5. content — happy
  6. rule — government
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. degree — an amount
  12. content — the amount
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wax — to grow
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. club — for golf
  17. squash — the sport
  18. snap — to click
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. track — a path
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rule — a law
  24. wax — for sculpting

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