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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wax — to grow
  4. club — for golf
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. club — a group
  7. band — a ring
  8. prune — to trim
  9. lie — to recline
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. file — a document
  15. cell — a phone
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. file — a tool
  19. prune — to trim
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cell — in biology
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. lie — an untruth

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