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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. race — humankind
  11. toast — bread
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. date — the fruit
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bore — to drill
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to tire
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — the most admired

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