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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: spring · ball · mark · bear · wax · content · court · jam

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bear — the animal
  4. spring — of water
  5. content — the amount
  6. spring — the season
  7. mark — a grade
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. court — for sport
  11. bear — the animal
  12. court — of law
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. content — happy
  18. court — of a king
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. wax — to grow
  24. mark — a trace

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