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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rock — a stone
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. squash — the sport
  6. wax — to grow
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. race — a contest
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. kick — in football
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. plane — a tool
  14. content — happy
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. race — humankind
  17. content — the amount
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. rock — music
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rock — to move gently

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