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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: mate · object · foot · wax · file · cold · row · mine

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. mate — a friend
  3. object — a thing
  4. foot — a measure
  5. object — to protest
  6. file — a tool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wax — to grow
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. file — a document
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mate — to breed
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mate — a partner
  20. cold — not warm
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. object — an aim
  23. row — a line
  24. wax — for sculpting

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