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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
468
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: mine · hand · ball · season · bark · roll · wax · file

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. file — a document
  3. season — in sport
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. ball — a great time
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — for digging
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bark — to shout
  17. file — a tool
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. roll — a list
  21. file — a line of people
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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