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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. tube — a container
  3. court — for sport
  4. wax — to grow
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. court — of law
  9. net — in sport
  10. can — a tin
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. can — a tin
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. tube — the underground
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. net — after costs
  20. can — to be able to
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. court — of a king
  24. net — for catching

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