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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. land — a country
  3. content — the amount
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bulb — for light
  7. march — music
  8. land — ground
  9. content — happy
  10. cold — not warm
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. march — the month
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. land — to come down
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. perch — the fish
  19. march — the month
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cold — an illness

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