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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spell — a short time
  7. track — a song
  8. stock — goods
  9. spell — magic
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. track — a path
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wax — to grow
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. rule — a law
  18. track — to keep track
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. spell — letters
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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