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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 124 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. season — of the year
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. tear — from crying
  11. foot — a measure
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. pit — a hole
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. season — in sport
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pit — in a race

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