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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: club · content · march · nail · file · wax · saw · field

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. field — a subject
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. club — for dancing
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. content — the amount
  10. march — the month
  11. club — for golf
  12. march — music
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. file — a line of people
  15. club — a group
  16. file — a document
  17. saw — the tool
  18. march — the month
  19. file — a tool
  20. content — happy
  21. wax — to grow
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wax — for sculpting

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