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

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. content — happy
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. race — the arms race
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. content — the amount
  9. present — there
  10. race — humankind
  11. date — the fruit
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. present — the time now
  14. wind — moving air
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. foot — a measure
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. present — a gift
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. race — a contest
  24. wind — moving air

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