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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. march — music
  6. content — the amount
  7. mug — a cup
  8. band — a ring
  9. march — the month
  10. content — happy
  11. root — of a plant
  12. mug — a face
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. march — the month
  16. root — the cause
  17. wax — to grow
  18. band — a music group
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. root — of a word
  23. lie — to recline
  24. mug — to rob

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