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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: mark · wave · band · wax · cold · scale · trunk · wound

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — a trace
  4. band — a music group
  5. cold — an illness
  6. band — a ring
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. scale — in music
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. scale — size or range
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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