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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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 — the amount
  2. ball — a great time
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. wax — to grow
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. spell — a short time
  13. march — the month
  14. band — a music group
  15. spell — letters
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. spell — magic
  18. content — happy
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. ball — a dance
  21. band — a ring
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. rash — a series
  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