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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. tube — a container
  3. capital — a city
  4. track — a song
  5. sharp — clever
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. squash — the sport
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. capital — money
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. track — a path
  24. track — to keep track

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