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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bat — the animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wax — to grow
  9. rush — hurry
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — a container
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bat — for baseball

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