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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cap — a hat
  4. track — a song
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. track — a path
  11. hand — help
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cap — a lid
  16. march — the month
  17. track — to keep track
  18. tube — a container
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pit — in a race
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. date — the fruit
  24. hand — part of the body

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