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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bark — to shout
  7. rush — hurry
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. roll — a cake
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. spell — a short time
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. content — happy
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. lie — to recline
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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