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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. tube — a container
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. file — a document
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kid — child
  13. land — to come down
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. land — a country
  19. land — ground
  20. file — a tool
  21. bass — the fish
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. arm — part of the body

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