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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. cap — a lid
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wound — an injury
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. content — happy
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bat — the animal
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cap — of ice
  23. scale — in music
  24. content — the amount

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