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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pitch — completely
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — of water
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wind — moving air
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. content — the amount
  19. wax — to grow
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. foot — a measure

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