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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 116 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. court — of a king
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. court — of law
  8. pitch — completely
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. squash — to crush
  14. content — happy
  15. season — of the year
  16. bear — the animal
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — in sport
  19. land — a country
  20. court — for sport
  21. land — to come down
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. content — the amount
  24. land — ground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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