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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 120 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: wax · land · lean · wind · file · craft · mate · content

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mate — a partner
  6. craft — a skill
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wax — to grow
  9. file — a document
  10. wind — moving air
  11. file — a tool
  12. mate — to breed
  13. content — the amount
  14. land — to come down
  15. content — happy
  16. land — a country
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. lean — to bend
  20. craft — boats
  21. lean — thin
  22. mate — a friend
  23. file — a line of people
  24. land — ground

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