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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. degree — an amount
  3. content — the amount
  4. season — of the year
  5. band — a ring
  6. content — happy
  7. band — a music group
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cue — for pool
  11. degree — temperature
  12. stem — to come from
  13. season — in sport
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fall — the season
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cue — a hint
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cue — a signal
  24. wax — for sculpting

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