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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: land · wound · craft · fine · wax · content · net · club

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. content — the amount
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fine — high quality
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. land — a country
  8. net — for catching
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. wound — an injury
  11. club — for dancing
  12. content — happy
  13. land — to come down
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. club — for golf
  16. craft — boats
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wax — to grow
  19. craft — a skill
  20. net — after costs
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. land — ground
  23. net — in sport
  24. club — a group

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