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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: content · shower · spring · racket · bear · march · snap · wax

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. march — the month
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. spring — the season
  13. march — the month
  14. content — the amount
  15. wax — to grow
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. march — music
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. shower — rain
  20. snap — to click
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bear — the animal
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bear — the animal

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