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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
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: wax · branch · craft · mine · wake · net · kid · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. net — for catching
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. craft — boats
  17. file — a document
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — a division
  20. craft — a skill
  21. mine — for digging
  22. net — in sport
  23. file — a line of people
  24. net — after costs

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