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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · bat · wax · content · bear · season · date · chair

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. season — of the year
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. game — a match
  12. date — the fruit
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bear — the animal
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. season — in sport
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. game — wild animals

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