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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 120 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spell — magic
  3. tube — a container
  4. pit — in a race
  5. shower — rain
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. spell — letters
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pit — a hole
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wax — to grow
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spell — a short time
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. tube — the underground

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