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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 116 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: content · land · lie · file · hand · mine · wave · wax

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. hand — help
  2. file — a document
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. wax — to grow
  9. content — happy
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. content — the amount
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. land — ground
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. land — to come down
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. lie — to recline
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mine — for digging
  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