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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: wax · land · tear · foot · chest · bulb · toast · content

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. chest — a box
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. bulb — for light
  9. foot — a measure
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. chest — of your body
  12. content — the amount
  13. land — ground
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. content — happy
  16. land — a country
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. toast — bread
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wax — to grow

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