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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. content — the amount
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. band — a music group
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. kick — in football
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. band — a ring
  13. wax — to grow
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. march — the month
  16. staff — employees
  17. hand — in cards
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. content — happy
  22. ground — crushed
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. hand — help

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