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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 · wax · mate · file · field · toast

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. wax — to grow
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. mate — a partner
  9. field — for sport
  10. mate — to breed
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. file — a line of people
  16. toast — bread
  17. mate — a friend
  18. net — after costs

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