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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 120 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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. court — for sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cue — for pool
  12. court — of a king
  13. content — happy
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. court — of law
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — a signal
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. band — a ring
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. band — a music group
  24. pitcher — a jug

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