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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. game — a match
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — to grow
  8. chip — to eat
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. tube — the underground
  11. chip — for betting
  12. last — finally
  13. mug — to rob
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. mug — a face
  16. mug — a cup
  17. tube — a container
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — to go on
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. rush — hurry
  24. game — wild animals

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