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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 116 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: land · hand · calf · wax · current · nail · shower · content

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. land — a country
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. hand — help
  5. land — ground
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wax — to grow
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. shower — to wash
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. current — of water
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. land — to come down
  20. content — the amount
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. current — electric
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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