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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. band — a music group
  3. content — the amount
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. press — newspapers
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. content — happy
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. press — a publisher
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. press — to push
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. rush — hurry
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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