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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: nail · saw · spell · content · wax · tear · net · craft

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wax — to grow
  3. tear — from crying
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. content — the amount
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. craft — a skill
  13. net — for catching
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. net — in sport
  19. spell — magic
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. net — after costs
  24. nail — for a hammer

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