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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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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: deal · band · file · board · stand · wax · tear · perch

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. wax — to grow
  2. stand — to bear
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. board — to get on
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. tear — to rip
  13. perch — the fish
  14. band — a ring
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. tear — from crying
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. board — a committee
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  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