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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 120 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. content — happy
  4. rock — music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bass — low music
  7. rock — a stone
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. band — a music group
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. key — the most important part
  12. branch — a division
  13. can — a tin
  14. content — the amount
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. key — in music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. band — a ring
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. band — a rubber band

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