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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitch — completely
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. march — the month
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — for golf
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. key — in music
  10. cell — a phone
  11. club — a group
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. key — the most important part
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. march — music
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. content — the amount
  19. march — the month
  20. cell — in biology
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. key — for a lock
  24. wax — to grow

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