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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. plane — a tool
  7. content — happy
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. can — to be able to
  11. wax — to grow
  12. kid — child
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. chest — of your body
  15. can — a tin
  16. content — the amount
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. hand — help
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. can — a tin
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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