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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: fine · bat · bound · plane · rock · wax · mark · file

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bound — obliged
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. fine — all right
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. file — a document
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. mark — a trace
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bound — certain
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wax — to grow
  17. file — a line of people
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rock — a stone
  22. file — a tool
  23. mark — a grade
  24. fine — high quality

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