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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. present — a gift
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. clip — for paper
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. clip — a video
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. present — the time now
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. present — there
  23. content — happy
  24. bulb — for light

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