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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. stock — goods
  3. present — a gift
  4. drill — a practice
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. drill — the tool
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. spell — magic
  11. content — happy
  12. face — to confront
  13. land — to come down
  14. spell — a short time
  15. present — the time now
  16. land — a country
  17. present — there
  18. stock — shares
  19. spell — letters
  20. land — ground
  21. drill — army training
  22. face — part of the head
  23. content — the amount
  24. wax — in the ear

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