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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: bark · fall · file · sharp · last · bass · nail · wax

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. last — finally
  3. file — a document
  4. bass — the fish
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. last — final
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fall — the season
  15. last — to go on
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. file — a line of people
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bass — low music
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. sharp — exactly

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