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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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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pit — in a race
  5. wax — to grow
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. wound — an injury
  9. kick — in football
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mug — to rob
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. rest — a break
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mug — a cup
  23. pit — a hole
  24. mug — a face

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