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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: net · scale · rest · wax · bark · trunk · saw · file

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rest — a break
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. net — in sport
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. scale — in music
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rest — what's left
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bark — to shout
  21. scale — size or range
  22. rest — what's left
  23. net — after costs
  24. scale — for weighing

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