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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 120 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. court — for sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. content — happy
  7. firm — decided
  8. court — of a king
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rash — a series
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wax — to grow
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. court — of law
  21. firm — a company
  22. content — the amount
  23. firm — steady
  24. hide — animal skin

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