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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wax · tube · mate · file · chest · fork · perch · pitcher

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. file — a document
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chest — of your body
  9. perch — the fish
  10. tube — the underground
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mate — a partner
  23. wax — to grow
  24. chest — a box

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