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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: land · wax · nail · content · chair · perch · chip · cap

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. land — to come down
  6. cap — a lid
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cap — a hat
  10. land — ground
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. content — happy
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wax — to grow
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. chip — to eat
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chip — for betting
  22. perch — the fish
  23. content — the amount
  24. perch — for a bird

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