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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: file · pound · spring · wound · wave · fork · wax · club

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — in a road
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. club — for dancing
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for golf
  14. file — a tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. spring — the season
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spring — of water
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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