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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rash — hasty
  5. content — the amount
  6. rash — a series
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. can — a tin
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. content — happy
  13. band — a music group
  14. chair — a leader
  15. wax — to grow
  16. can — to be able to
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. can — a tin
  19. stock — shares
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. band — a ring

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