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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. content — the amount
  3. wax — to grow
  4. staff — employees
  5. band — a ring
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. staff — employees
  8. content — happy
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. prune — to trim
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. season — in sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fan — a supporter

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