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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. degree — from a university
  4. plane — a tool
  5. wax — to grow
  6. season — in sport
  7. kid — child
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. kid — to tease
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. chip — for betting
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chip — to eat
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. tube — the underground
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. degree — an amount
  24. season — of the year

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