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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. firm — decided
  7. land — to come down
  8. firm — a company
  9. land — ground
  10. content — happy
  11. last — finally
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rock — a stone
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rock — music
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. rash — a series
  20. firm — steady
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. rash — on the skin

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