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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 · lie · march · branch · file · mark · wake · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a tool
  17. march — music
  18. file — a document
  19. branch — a division
  20. mark — a grade
  21. march — the month
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. mark — a trace
  24. lie — to recline

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