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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.

Make a worksheet

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: content · clip · last · fall · object · mine · wax · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. last — finally
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fall — to drop
  5. content — happy
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. object — a thing
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. content — the amount
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. face — to point toward
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. object — an aim
  23. mine — for digging
  24. object — to protest

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