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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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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 · lean · march · season · wax · rule · tear · cell

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. season — of the year
  9. lean — thin
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rule — government
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. content — the amount
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. season — in sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rule — a law
  22. content — happy
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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