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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · press · bore · wax · track · cold · chest · branch

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. chest — of your body
  3. file — a tool
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. branch — a division
  10. bore — to tire
  11. press — to push
  12. press — newspapers
  13. cold — an illness
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wax — to grow
  18. chest — a box
  19. track — a song
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bore — to drill
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. chest — of your body
  24. track — a path

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