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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. last — to go on
  3. rest — a break
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. last — final
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. rest — what's left
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. spell — magic
  18. last — finally
  19. spell — a short time
  20. branch — a division
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. spell — letters

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