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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wax — to grow
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. content — happy
  21. wound — an injury
  22. content — the amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cabinet — ministers

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