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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bore — to tire
  3. face — to point toward
  4. can — to be able to
  5. track — to keep track
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. content — the amount
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. file — a line of people
  12. track — a song
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. can — a tin
  16. track — a path
  17. content — happy
  18. bore — to drill
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. can — a tin
  21. file — a document
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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