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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. last — to go on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. current — of water
  8. content — the amount
  9. last — final
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. prune — to trim
  16. current — electric
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. fine — high quality
  20. last — finally
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. current — happening now

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