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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 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. last — final
  3. suit — clothes
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. row — to paddle
  7. land — a country
  8. file — a document
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. last — to go on
  12. file — a line of people
  13. branch — a division
  14. row — a line
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. suit — to fit
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wax — to grow
  23. suit — in cards
  24. last — finally

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