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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · kick · saw · wax · file · ground · date · calf

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. file — a line of people
  12. content — happy
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. file — a tool
  15. content — the amount
  16. kick — in football
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. file — a document
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wax — to grow

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