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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. hand — help
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. deal — to handle
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. march — the month
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. hand — in cards
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. content — happy

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