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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. net — in sport
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. file — a document
  5. tube — a container
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. file — a tool
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. content — the amount
  11. net — after costs
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. net — for catching
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tube — the underground
  23. straw — dry grass
  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