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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: kid · wax · field · arm · stand · face · content · ground

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. content — videos and posts
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. ground — the earth
  4. face — to confront
  5. ground — crushed
  6. kid — to tease
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. face — to point toward
  11. field — farmland
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. field — for sport
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. ground — a position
  18. face — part of the head
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. kid — child
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. field — a subject
  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