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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. fall — the season
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. band — a ring
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. net — after costs
  11. fall — to drop
  12. net — in sport
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tube — a container
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — an illness
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a music group

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