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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: kid · wax · rash · mine · press · sharp · nail · hide

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wax — to grow
  4. kid — child
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. press — newspapers
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mine — for digging
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. kid — to tease

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