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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: press · net · content · racket · wax · stick · shower · tear

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. net — for catching
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. press — to push
  6. content — happy
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. content — the amount
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. shower — to wash
  13. net — after costs
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. shower — rain
  17. net — in sport
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. wax — to grow
  20. press — a publisher
  21. tear — from crying
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. press — newspapers
  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