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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. tube — the underground
  5. degree — temperature
  6. content — the amount
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. toast — bread
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. tube — a container
  16. wax — to grow
  17. branch — a division
  18. content — happy
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. degree — from a university
  24. content — videos and posts

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