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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 120 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: content · club · board · firm · cell · wax · pound · spell

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. board — a committee
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. firm — decided
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pound — a weight
  10. firm — a company
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wax — to grow
  14. club — a group
  15. content — the amount
  16. spell — letters
  17. board — to get on
  18. club — for dancing
  19. content — happy
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. spell — magic
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. club — for golf
  24. cell — in biology

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