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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cold — not warm
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mug — a face
  16. mug — to rob
  17. cold — an illness
  18. scale — in music
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wind — moving air

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