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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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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 · mine · last · bear · rash · foot · drill · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. rash — a series
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. mine — for digging
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bear — the animal
  13. last — finally
  14. foot — a measure
  15. last — final
  16. drill — army training
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. drill — the tool
  21. last — to go on
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. drill — a practice
  24. mine — belonging to me

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