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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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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: tube · track · wave · bay · kid · tear · club · file

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. track — a path
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. club — for golf
  10. track — to keep track
  11. club — a group
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. track — a song
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. tube — a container
  16. file — a document
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. club — for dancing
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. kid — to tease
  24. tube — the underground

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