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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 120 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: degree · wax · trunk · net · wind · file · mouse · tear

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. net — for catching
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — to grow
  9. degree — from a university
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. file — a line of people
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. file — a document
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. net — in sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tear — from crying
  22. file — a tool
  23. tear — to rip
  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