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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. current — electric
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. last — finally
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wax — to grow
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — the month
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. content — the amount
  16. march — music
  17. current — happening now
  18. last — to go on
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. last — final
  21. bulb — for light
  22. march — the month
  23. current — of water
  24. wax — in the ear

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