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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 120 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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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: march · kid · wax · fine · bank · file · deal · straw

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wax — to grow
  5. march — music
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. march — the month
  8. fine — high quality
  9. deal — to handle
  10. bank — of a river
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. march — the month
  15. bank — for money
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fine — all right
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. file — a line of people
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bank — for money
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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