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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wax — to grow
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. stem — to come from
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cap — of ice
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cue — a signal
  11. press — to push
  12. cap — a lid
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cap — a hat
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cue — a hint
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cue — for pool
  24. content — the amount

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