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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bank — of a river
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wax — to grow
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bank — for money
  10. root — of a word
  11. clip — to cut
  12. content — happy
  13. ball — a great time
  14. degree — from a university
  15. clip — a video
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. content — the amount
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bank — for money
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. clip — for paper
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wax — for sculpting

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