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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. rash — a series
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. field — farmland
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. field — for sport
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rash — hasty
  13. face — part of the head
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. field — a subject
  16. face — to point toward
  17. tube — a container
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. face — to confront
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. plane — a tool

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