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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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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: chest · present · arm · bear · pound · land · mine · wax

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. present — there
  4. land — to come down
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. chest — a box
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bear — the animal
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wax — to grow
  14. chest — of your body
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — a gift
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bear — the animal

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