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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: file · nail · prune · content · wax · roll · field · trunk

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. content — the amount
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. field — farmland
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. prune — to trim
  9. content — happy
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. file — a document
  15. roll — a cake
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. prune — to trim
  18. file — a tool
  19. wax — to grow
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. roll — a list
  22. file — a line of people
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. nail — for a hammer

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