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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. firm — a company
  4. clip — to cut
  5. content — the amount
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. lean — thin
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. firm — decided
  11. content — happy
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bat — the animal
  14. tube — the underground
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. firm — steady
  24. lean — to bend

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