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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. content — happy
  3. cue — a hint
  4. degree — temperature
  5. content — the amount
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. root — the cause
  8. ground — a position
  9. degree — from a university
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. root — of a word
  16. cue — a signal
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rock — a stone
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. cue — for pool
  23. root — of a plant
  24. ground — crushed

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