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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. branch — a division
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. band — a ring
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. content — the amount
  13. mark — a trace
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mark — a grade
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wax — to grow
  20. content — happy
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. snap — to click

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