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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. deal — to handle
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. content — happy
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. file — a document
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — humankind
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wax — to grow
  18. file — a tool
  19. hand — help
  20. chest — of your body
  21. file — a line of people
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. race — the arms race

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