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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. 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. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. content — happy
  4. bank — of a river
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. game — a match
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. season — in sport
  9. content — the amount
  10. current — electric
  11. current — of water
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. last — finally
  14. bank — for money
  15. last — to go on
  16. season — of the year
  17. current — happening now
  18. last — final
  19. bank — for money
  20. wax — to grow
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. 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