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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 120 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
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: craft · present · wax · file · cold · content · mouse · land

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. file — a document
  5. present — a gift
  6. land — to come down
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — there
  9. land — ground
  10. content — the amount
  11. cold — not warm
  12. file — a line of people
  13. craft — boats
  14. cold — an illness
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. content — happy
  17. file — a tool
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. craft — a skill
  24. land — a country

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