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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wax — to grow
  4. tube — a container
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. ball — a great time
  7. kid — to tease
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. chip — to eat
  10. fall — the season
  11. lean — thin
  12. fall — to drop
  13. chip — for betting
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. fall — to drop
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. ball — a dance
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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