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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: cold · wax · tube · last · nail · bound · file · perch

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. tube — the underground
  3. file — a document
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. file — a line of people
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bound — certain
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tube — a container
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. cold — not warm
  14. file — a tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wax — to grow
  17. last — to go on
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bound — tied together
  22. perch — the fish
  23. last — finally
  24. last — final

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