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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: spring · nail · file · staff · wound · wax · bat · bass

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wound — an injury
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. spring — the season
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bat — the animal
  11. staff — employees
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. file — a document
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bass — low music
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. spring — of water
  24. file — a tool

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