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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 120 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 laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. file — a document
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. key — in music
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mate — to breed
  12. content — the amount
  13. key — the most important part
  14. file — a line of people
  15. tear — from crying
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. tear — to rip
  19. chest — a box
  20. file — a tool
  21. wax — to grow
  22. key — for a lock
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. content — happy

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