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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.

Make a worksheet

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: file · prune · toast · wax · tear · march · scale · key

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. key — for a lock
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — in music
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. tear — from crying
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. file — a document
  15. march — the month
  16. key — in music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wax — to grow
  22. toast — bread
  23. tear — to rip
  24. prune — to trim

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