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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. drill — army training
  3. land — ground
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — a practice
  6. season — of the year
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. land — a country
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. land — to come down
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. game — a match
  22. bark — to shout
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — happy

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