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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mark — a trace
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. content — the amount
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. content — happy
  11. season — of the year
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cell — in biology
  14. chip — to eat
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cell — a phone
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. mark — a grade
  22. season — in sport
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. content — videos and posts

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