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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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468
Word bank
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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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. present — the time now
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — there
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — happy
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. spell — magic
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. present — a gift
  14. rest — a break
  15. content — the amount
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rest — what's left
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. face — to point toward
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rest — what's left
  23. face — to confront
  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