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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. roll — a list
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. roll — a cake
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cue — a signal
  18. plane — a tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wax — to grow
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. degree — from a university
  24. tube — a container

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