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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: straw · file · rest · foot · wake · wax · court · cap

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cap — of ice
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cap — a lid
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. file — a tool
  11. cap — a hat
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. file — a line of people
  16. foot — a measure
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. court — of law
  20. rest — a break
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rest — what's left
  23. file — a document
  24. wake — before a funeral

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