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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 116 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. spell — letters
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fall — to drop
  9. snap — to click
  10. staff — employees
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. craft — boats
  14. content — happy
  15. staff — a stick
  16. content — the amount
  17. spell — magic
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. wax — to grow
  20. pit — in a race
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. staff — employees
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. fall — the season

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