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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. content — the amount
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wind — moving air
  5. march — music
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. march — the month
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. shower — rain
  13. wind — moving air
  14. vault — a safe
  15. tube — the underground
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. branch — a division
  18. shower — to wash
  19. content — happy
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. tube — a container
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. tube — in a tire

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