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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
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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 · face · content · mine · cell · bay · press · net

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. mine — for digging
  3. net — in sport
  4. press — to push
  5. net — after costs
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. face — to confront
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. press — a publisher
  10. net — for catching
  11. face — to point toward
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. press — newspapers
  15. content — the amount
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. face — part of the head
  21. content — happy
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. content — videos and posts

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