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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a grade
  4. content — happy
  5. object — to protest
  6. pop — soda
  7. object — a thing
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pass — a permit
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pop — to visit
  17. mark — a trace
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. drill — army training
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pop — music
  24. content — the amount

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