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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stock — goods
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. stock — shares
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. court — for sport
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. current — happening now
  14. lean — thin
  15. chair — a leader
  16. lean — to bend
  17. court — of law
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. court — of a king

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