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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. mate — to breed
  5. land — to come down
  6. bank — for money
  7. mate — a friend
  8. content — happy
  9. band — a ring
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. mate — a partner
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bank — of a river
  15. land — a country
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. land — ground
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pitch — completely
  21. band — a music group
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bank — for money

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