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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. tube — a container
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. tear — to rip
  9. last — final
  10. season — in sport
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — the cause
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. last — finally
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. rock — a stone
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wax — to grow
  19. last — to go on
  20. season — of the year
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rock — music
  24. wax — in the ear

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