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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: spring · fan · face · band · scale · nail · wax · last

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. last — to go on
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wax — to grow
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. scale — in music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. band — a music group
  12. spring — the season
  13. face — to confront
  14. last — finally
  15. face — part of the head
  16. last — final
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. scale — size or range
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. spring — of water
  24. wax — in the ear

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