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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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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: file · mark · stem · bowl · wax · pitch · wind · pound

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. file — a document
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a trace
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. mark — a grade
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bowl — to roll

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