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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.

Make a worksheet

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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. content — the amount
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. saw — the tool
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wax — to grow
  9. content — happy
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cold — not warm
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wax — in the ear

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