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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: wave · field · wax · file · last · face · prune · pop

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pop — music
  3. last — finally
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. prune — to trim
  7. file — a line of people
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. file — a document
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pop — soda
  12. field — for sport
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. field — farmland
  15. last — to go on
  16. wax — to grow
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pop — to visit
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. face — part of the head
  21. field — a subject
  22. face — to confront
  23. file — a tool
  24. wave — with your hand

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