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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · content · lean · game · wax · nail · chest · mine

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. court — for sport
  5. lean — to bend
  6. court — of law
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. chest — a box
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. chest — of your body
  12. court — of a king
  13. lean — thin
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. game — a match
  17. content — happy
  18. wax — to grow
  19. mine — for digging
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. nail — on a finger

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