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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 116 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. content — happy
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. can — a tin
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. rule — a law
  9. can — to be able to
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. capital — a city
  14. rule — government
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stock — shares
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. capital — money
  20. stock — goods
  21. can — a tin
  22. perch — the fish
  23. content — the amount
  24. wax — in the ear

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