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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: file · perch · mate · kid · tube · straw · band · bound

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as 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. tube — a container
  2. mate — to breed
  3. file — a document
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bound — certain
  7. perch — the fish
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bound — tied together
  11. band — a music group
  12. kid — to tease
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. kid — child
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bound — obliged
  20. file — a line of people
  21. band — a ring
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  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