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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: tear · cell · wax · file · calf · march · perch · track

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cell — in biology
  7. march — the month
  8. track — a path
  9. perch — the fish
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. march — music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — the month
  16. tear — from crying
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cell — a phone
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. tear — to rip
  21. track — a song
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a tool
  24. wax — in the ear

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