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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wind · wave · wound · file · last · branch · wax · net

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wax — to grow
  6. last — to go on
  7. wound — an injury
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. file — a document
  11. branch — a division
  12. net — in sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wind — moving air
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. net — after costs
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. last — finally
  23. net — for catching
  24. last — final

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