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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. rash — a series
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wax — to grow
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. content — happy
  17. rash — hasty
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. leaves — lets stay

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