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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: bore · spell · scale · stem · wax · last · leaves · file

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bore — to drill
  4. file — a document
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. file — a tool
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. last — final
  11. wax — to grow
  12. last — to go on
  13. file — a line of people
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. last — finally
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. spell — letters
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bore — to tire
  22. scale — in music
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. stem — to come from

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