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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. content — the amount
  3. fall — the season
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. roll — a cake
  8. content — happy
  9. fall — to drop
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bass — the fish
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. fall — to drop
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. roll — a list
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bass — low music
  22. file — a document
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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