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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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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 · wax · land · face · tear · chip · hide · nail

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. land — ground
  4. wax — to grow
  5. tear — from crying
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. face — to point toward
  9. land — a country
  10. tear — from crying
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. chip — for betting
  13. tear — to rip
  14. content — happy
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. face — part of the head
  21. content — the amount
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. land — to come down
  24. wax — for sculpting

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