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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: press · wax · nail · cell · tear · content

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. wax — to grow
  8. press — newspapers
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying

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