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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 120 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: last · wind · mine · racket · file · bank · wax · track

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. track — a song
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bank — of a river
  12. track — a path
  13. last — to go on
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bank — for money
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wind — moving air
  19. file — a document
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. last — finally
  22. bank — for money
  23. track — to keep track
  24. last — final

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