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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: ball · leaves · shower · march · cap · content · wax · deal

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cap — of ice
  3. content — happy
  4. ball — a dance
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. content — the amount
  7. deal — to handle
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. shower — rain
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. cap — a lid
  17. ball — a great time
  18. march — music
  19. shower — to wash
  20. cap — a hat
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. march — the month
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. wax — in the ear

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