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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  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. content — happy
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. sharp — clever
  6. mark — a grade
  7. wax — to grow
  8. track — a path
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cap — a lid
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cap — of ice
  15. track — a song
  16. content — the amount
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wind — moving air
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cap — a hat
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mark — a trace
  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