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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.

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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: rash · land · content · wax · season · object · saw · arm

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. content — happy
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. land — a country
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. content — the amount
  9. object — a thing
  10. land — to come down
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. saw — the tool
  16. season — of the year
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. object — to protest
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. object — an aim
  22. land — ground
  23. season — in sport
  24. rash — on the skin

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