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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. tube — a container
  6. game — a match
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cold — an illness
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cold — not warm
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. chip — to eat
  14. content — the amount
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. content — happy
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — to grow

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