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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.

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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: kid · staff · foot · rest · wax · wind · present · content

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rest — what's left
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. rest — what's left
  9. present — the time now
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. wax — to grow
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. rest — a break
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. kid — to tease
  18. present — there
  19. staff — a stick
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. content — happy
  23. wind — moving air
  24. present — a gift

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