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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: wax · perch · content · cold · mark · rush · firm · field

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. firm — a company
  4. mark — a trace
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mark — a grade
  8. content — the amount
  9. field — a subject
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — decided
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. field — farmland
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cold — an illness
  18. perch — the fish
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. rush — hurry
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. field — for sport
  24. content — happy

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