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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: plane · wax · file · roll · stem · scale · content · shower

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. scale — in music
  3. content — happy
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — a list
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. file — a tool
  15. shower — rain
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. stem — to come from
  23. scale — size or range
  24. content — the amount

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