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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: nail · wax · net · fall · kid · wound · press · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wound — an injury
  4. net — after costs
  5. fall — the season
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. net — for catching
  8. press — a publisher
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. press — newspapers
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — happy
  17. wax — to grow
  18. fall — to drop
  19. net — in sport
  20. kid — to tease
  21. press — to push
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kid — child

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