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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. object — an aim
  6. bank — for money
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. root — of a plant
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. content — happy
  11. object — a thing
  12. content — the amount
  13. bank — for money
  14. object — to protest
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mark — a trace
  18. date — the fruit
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. root — of a word
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bank — of a river
  23. root — the cause
  24. wax — to grow

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