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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.

Make a worksheet

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: saw · plane · cold · straw · face · wax · land · object

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. land — ground
  4. object — to protest
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. plane — a tool
  7. object — an aim
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. object — a thing
  15. cold — not warm
  16. face — to point toward
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. land — a country
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cold — an illness
  22. face — to confront
  23. saw — the tool
  24. land — to come down

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