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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  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. board — a committee
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cold — an illness
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — happy
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. mate — to breed
  8. content — the amount
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. mate — a friend
  14. pop — soda
  15. board — to get on
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pop — music
  20. bulb — for light
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bulb — for light
  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