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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. nail — on a finger
  2. object — a thing
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. content — happy
  5. cold — an illness
  6. content — the amount
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wax — to grow
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. object — an aim
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. object — to protest
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — in cards
  18. suit — clothes
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. land — a country
  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