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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. hand — help
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. content — happy
  7. land — to come down
  8. present — the time now
  9. content — the amount
  10. bass — the fish
  11. mug — a face
  12. land — ground
  13. bass — low music
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. present — a gift
  18. land — a country
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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