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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: ball · wound · last · ground · wax · fine · content · tube

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ball — a great time
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. last — finally
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. last — to go on
  13. wax — to grow
  14. tube — a container
  15. content — happy
  16. fine — all right
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wound — an injury
  19. content — the amount
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. tube — the underground

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