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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: straw · bound · file · wax · roll · band · track · can

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. roll — a list
  3. band — a music group
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wax — to grow
  6. file — a line of people
  7. can — a tin
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. band — a ring
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. roll — a cake
  13. file — a document
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. can — to be able to
  17. can — a tin
  18. track — a song
  19. track — a path
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. file — a tool

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