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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. content — the amount
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. band — a ring
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. content — happy
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. wax — to grow
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. band — a music group
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. racket — for tennis

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