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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  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. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. content — the amount
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. wound — an injury
  19. last — finally
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. pitch — completely
  23. safe — out of danger
  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