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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. present — there
  3. wax — to grow
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. content — happy
  11. present — the time now
  12. roll — a cake
  13. tube — a container
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. content — the amount
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. present — a gift
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. branch — a division
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. tube — the underground
  23. roll — a list
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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