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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 124 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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pit — in a race
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. club — for dancing
  5. tube — a container
  6. drill — a practice
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. club — for golf
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. court — of law
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. pop — soda
  14. wax — to grow
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pit — a hole
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pop — music
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. clip — a video
  23. club — a group
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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