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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: wax · face · drill · pound · scale · trunk · wind · file

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. face — to confront
  3. scale — in music
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pound — a weight
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. file — a line of people
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. drill — army training
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wax — in the ear

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