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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.

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: lie · content · chip · bark · squash · wax · fan · march

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. lie — to recline
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. march — the month
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wax — to grow
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. march — music
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bark — to shout
  24. march — the month

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