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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.

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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. field — farmland
  10. fork — in a road
  11. field — for sport
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wax — to grow
  14. rule — government
  15. prune — to trim
  16. field — a subject
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rule — a law

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