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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 116 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 · mouse · kid · last · bound · track · coach · scale

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. track — a song
  4. last — finally
  5. file — a document
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. last — final
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. kid — child
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bound — certain
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. file — a tool
  16. scale — in music
  17. track — a path
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. track — to keep track
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a line of people
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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