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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: wax · wound · file · rush · perch · snap · date · stock

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stock — goods
  5. perch — the fish
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. file — a document
  10. stock — shares
  11. file — a line of people
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. snap — to click
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. date — the fruit
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rush — hurry
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. file — a tool

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