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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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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: march · stick · wax · tube · bank · chest · file · content

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. chest — of your body
  3. march — the month
  4. bank — of a river
  5. content — the amount
  6. tube — the underground
  7. march — music
  8. chest — a box
  9. march — the month
  10. bank — for money
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bank — for money
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. tube — a container
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. content — happy
  24. file — a document

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