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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wake — a trail
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mate — a partner
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — to protest
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bank — for money
  11. mate — to breed
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bank — of a river
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wax — to grow
  17. content — the amount
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. object — a thing
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bank — for money
  24. chair — to sit on

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