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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: fall · trunk · board · key · rest · file · kid · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. fall — the season
  5. key — in music
  6. rest — a break
  7. board — to get on
  8. key — the most important part
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. file — a document
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. board — a committee
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. key — for a lock
  15. file — a tool
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. rest — what's left
  19. kid — child
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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