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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: stem · chair · hand · wax · march · content · wake · lie

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wake — a trail
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. hand — help
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. march — music
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. chair — a leader
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. march — the month
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. march — the month
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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