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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. content — happy
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bark — to shout
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. lie — to recline
  10. content — the amount
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mate — a friend
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mate — a partner
  16. vault — a safe
  17. ground — the earth
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — crushed
  21. mate — to breed
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wax — to grow

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