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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. root — the cause
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. content — the amount
  10. root — of a plant
  11. march — the month
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. wax — to grow
  14. root — of a word
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — of water
  20. march — music
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spring — the season
  24. safe — a strongbox

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