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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: scale · plane · mine · land · rock · wax · jam · wound

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. land — a country
  3. wax — to grow
  4. land — to come down
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — a stone
  7. scale — in music
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. rock — music
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. land — ground
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. mine — an explosive

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