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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: file · field · bank · object · capital · spring · plane · wax

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bank — for money
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. capital — a city
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bank — of a river
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — a thing
  9. field — farmland
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a document
  12. plane — a tool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. field — a subject
  17. file — a tool
  18. field — for sport
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. bank — for money
  24. wax — for sculpting

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