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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: file · wound · kick · content · date · net · wax · pitcher

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — the amount
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. net — after costs
  5. date — the fruit
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. net — for catching
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. file — a line of people
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. content — happy
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wax — to grow
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. kick — in football
  23. net — in sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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