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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: ground · jam · mark · squash · bank · content · wax · file

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bank — of a river
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. ground — a position
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. mark — a trace
  10. ground — crushed
  11. content — the amount
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. bank — for money
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bank — for money
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. squash — the sport
  20. ground — the earth
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. content — happy
  24. mark — a grade

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