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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · land · wax · bound · date · mouse · fork · present

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bound — certain
  4. land — ground
  5. present — a gift
  6. bound — tied together
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. land — a country
  11. file — a document
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. date — the fruit
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. land — to come down
  19. file — a tool
  20. present — there
  21. file — a line of people
  22. present — the time now
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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