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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · shower · net · pit · branch · content · pop · ground

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pop — music
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. net — in sport
  12. pop — soda
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pit — a hole
  15. shower — rain
  16. net — after costs
  17. branch — a division
  18. net — for catching
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. content — the amount
  21. pop — to visit
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. ground — a position
  24. wax — for sculpting

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