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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 116 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wake — a trail
  6. net — after costs
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. net — in sport
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. net — for catching

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