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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 116 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: file · rest · lie · spring · cold · club · wake · wax

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. file — a tool
  3. rest — what's left
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spring — of water
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. club — for golf
  10. wake — a trail
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spring — the season
  14. wax — to grow
  15. lie — to recline
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. file — a line of people
  20. spring — a coil
  21. club — a group
  22. rest — a break
  23. cold — an illness
  24. file — a document

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