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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: nail · march · file · row · tear · shower · net · wax

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. file — a tool
  3. shower — to wash
  4. file — a document
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. shower — rain
  7. net — in sport
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wax — to grow
  11. march — music
  12. row — to paddle
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a line of people
  17. row — a line
  18. net — for catching
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. tear — to rip
  21. net — after costs
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. march — the month
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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