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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. file — a tool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. track — to keep track
  7. hand — help
  8. track — a path
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. file — a line of people
  11. face — to confront
  12. hand — in cards
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. track — a song
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wake — a trail
  24. file — a document

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