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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. fall — the season
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitch — completely
  5. fall — to drop
  6. charge — electricity
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. content — happy
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — low music
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tear — from crying
  14. content — the amount
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. charge — in control
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. charge — a price

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