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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wax — to grow
  10. content — happy
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. face — to point toward
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rush — hurry
  16. court — of a king
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. content — the amount
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. court — of law
  24. court — for sport

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