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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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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: chest · patient · nail · content · wax · squash · toast · prune

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. toast — a drink to someone
  2. chest — of your body
  3. toast — bread
  4. chest — a box
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. squash — the sport
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. prune — to trim
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. squash — to crush
  12. content — happy
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. content — the amount
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wax — to grow
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. prune — to trim
  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