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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. bear — to put up with
  2. march — music
  3. bear — the animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. spring — of water
  7. march — the month
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fall — the season
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. march — the month
  22. wax — to grow
  23. fall — to drop
  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