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

Word bank: band · craft · cell · wake · lash · wax · fork · file

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. band — a ring
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. craft — boats
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wax — to grow
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. cell — in biology
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wake — a trail
  24. band — a music group

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