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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. content — the amount
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. capital — a city
  8. bark — to shout
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pitch — completely
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bear — the animal
  14. march — the month
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. capital — money
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. march — the month
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. march — music

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