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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. prune — to trim
  4. content — the amount
  5. kid — child
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cap — a lid
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. tube — a container
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. kid — to tease
  21. content — happy
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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