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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. mate — a friend
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. race — a contest
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wax — to grow
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. tube — a container
  15. race — humankind
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mate — a partner
  18. chest — a box
  19. tube — the underground
  20. chest — of your body
  21. race — the arms race
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — in a computer

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