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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. stand — to bear
  4. kid — child
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. tube — a container
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pop — to visit
  12. march — the month
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pop — soda
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — the month
  17. tube — the underground
  18. pop — music
  19. wax — to grow
  20. march — music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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