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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. date — the fruit
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. march — music
  6. saw — the tool
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. march — the month
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. content — happy
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. content — the amount
  16. cold — an illness
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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