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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: board · wake · cell · wax · object · land · file · hide

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. land — a country
  6. object — to protest
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. cell — in biology
  9. file — a line of people
  10. land — to come down
  11. wake — a trail
  12. board — to get on
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. board — a committee
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. object — an aim
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. file — a tool
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. cell — a phone
  23. object — a thing
  24. file — a document

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