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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. shower — rain
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. degree — temperature
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — to wash
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. degree — an amount
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wax — to grow
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rock — a stone
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. file — a document
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. tube — a container
  21. file — a tool
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pitcher — a jug

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