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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. foot — a measure
  7. ground — the earth
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wax — to grow
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. scale — in music
  15. tube — a container
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bat — the animal
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. scale — size or range
  24. ground — a position

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