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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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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wake — a trail
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wax — to grow
  8. scale — size or range
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. scale — in music
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. band — a music group
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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