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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 124 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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468
Word bank
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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. drill — army training
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. content — happy
  5. fine — all right
  6. content — the amount
  7. drill — the tool
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. degree — an amount
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wax — to grow
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fine — high quality
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wax — in the ear

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