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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: spring · roll · file · pound · scale · club · wax · trunk

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. file — a document
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. roll — a list
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. wax — to grow
  8. pound — a weight
  9. spring — of water
  10. roll — a cake
  11. file — a tool
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. club — for dancing
  17. spring — a coil
  18. club — a group
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. club — for golf
  23. scale — size or range
  24. file — a line of people

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