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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: staff · arm · hand · ball · wax · wave · content · wind

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. staff — employees
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. staff — employees
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wax — to grow
  11. staff — a stick
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wind — moving air
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. hand — in cards
  20. content — happy
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. content — the amount

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