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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. cue — for pool
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. tube — the underground
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — to grow
  14. tube — a container
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. race — humankind
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. jam — a tight spot

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