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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. rest — a break
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bass — the fish
  5. hand — in cards
  6. content — happy
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. rest — what's left
  9. roll — a list
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. content — the amount
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. roll — a cake
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wax — to grow
  20. rest — what's left
  21. tear — from crying
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — low music

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