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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: clip · march · safe · file · kid · wax · object · bound

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — an aim
  3. kid — child
  4. march — the month
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. clip — a video
  7. file — a tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. file — a document
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wax — to grow
  14. march — music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bound — tied together
  19. kid — to tease
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. object — a thing
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. march — the month

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