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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. net — after costs
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. net — in sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. net — for catching
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. content — the amount
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. content — happy
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. squash — to crush
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. squash — the vegetable

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