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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. net — in sport
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rush — hurry
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. key — for a lock
  7. content — happy
  8. key — in music
  9. content — the amount
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wax — to grow
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. key — the most important part
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. tube — the underground
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. tube — a container
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. content — videos and posts

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