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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 116 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. tube — the underground
  3. net — in sport
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. snap — to click
  19. cold — not warm
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. vault — a safe
  22. net — for catching
  23. wax — to grow
  24. net — after costs

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