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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. content — the amount
  3. cell — a phone
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to sink
  8. wax — to grow
  9. degree — an amount
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a plant
  16. content — happy
  17. degree — from a university
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. rash — a series
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cell — in biology
  22. plane — a tool
  23. root — of a word
  24. dip — to dunk

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