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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
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: wax · ball · chip · nail · arm · trunk · content · field

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. field — farmland
  3. ball — a dance
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. field — for sport
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chip — to eat
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. chip — for betting
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. ball — a great time
  19. field — a subject
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wax — to grow
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. arm — a part of something

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