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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. net — for catching
  4. fall — the season
  5. land — a country
  6. band — a ring
  7. fall — to drop
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. land — ground
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. fall — to drop
  12. club — a group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — for golf
  17. net — in sport
  18. wax — to grow
  19. net — after costs
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. band — a music group
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. land — to come down
  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