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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. object — a thing
  3. net — for catching
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pop — music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. object — to protest
  8. pop — to visit
  9. object — an aim
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. tube — a container
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — a measure
  14. net — in sport
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wax — to grow
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pop — soda
  24. net — after costs

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