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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pop — to visit
  4. band — a music group
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. content — the amount
  7. band — a ring
  8. content — happy
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mine — for digging
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — soda
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. wax — in the ear

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