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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wax — to grow
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. plane — a tool
  6. game — wild animals
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. staff — employees
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. row — a line
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. game — a match
  20. row — to paddle
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. content — the amount
  24. bear — the animal

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