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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wind — moving air
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. tube — a container
  9. dip — to sink
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. degree — temperature
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. bore — to tire
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bore — to drill
  21. tube — the underground
  22. ball — a great time
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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