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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. spell — letters
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. tube — a container
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. chip — to eat
  9. branch — a division
  10. key — the most important part
  11. chip — for betting
  12. key — in music
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. spell — a short time
  16. key — for a lock
  17. spell — magic
  18. wax — to grow

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