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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spell — a short time
  3. content — the amount
  4. spell — letters
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. spell — magic
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. rest — what's left
  18. band — a music group
  19. rash — hasty
  20. tube — the underground
  21. band — a ring
  22. rash — a series
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. tube — a container

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