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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: squash · wax · bay · mark · rush · content · land · spell

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. land — a country
  4. content — happy
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mark — a trace
  9. land — to come down
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. squash — to crush
  12. land — ground
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wax — to grow
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. spell — letters
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. spell — magic
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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