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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wind — moving air
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. perch — the fish
  12. content — happy
  13. wax — to grow
  14. board — to get on
  15. board — a committee
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. mark — a grade
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mark — a trace

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