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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: net · roll · fine · mine · wound · court · content · wax

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mine — for digging
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. court — of law
  8. fine — all right
  9. roll — a list
  10. court — for sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. court — of a king
  13. net — after costs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. net — in sport
  16. fine — high quality
  17. roll — a cake
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. content — happy
  23. wax — to grow
  24. net — for catching

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