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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. roll — a cake
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bound — certain
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mug — a face
  13. craft — boats
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. tube — a container
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bound — obliged
  18. cold — not warm
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. mug — to rob
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. cold — an illness
  24. roll — a list

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