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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 120 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. march — the month
  5. content — the amount
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. track — a path
  11. shower — rain
  12. cold — an illness
  13. deal — to handle
  14. march — music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. content — happy
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bank — for money
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cold — not warm
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. march — the month
  23. track — a song
  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