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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. tube — the underground
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. stand — to bear
  8. spell — letters
  9. object — a thing
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tube — a container
  13. object — an aim
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. object — to protest
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pit — a hole
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pit — in a race
  24. spell — magic

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