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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. game — wild animals
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. tube — a container
  8. stand — to bear
  9. fall — to drop
  10. game — a match
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. band — a music group
  13. row — to paddle
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wax — to grow
  17. row — a line
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. tube — the underground
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. wax — for sculpting

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