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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lie — to recline
  5. tube — a container
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wax — to grow
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. dip — to sink
  21. prune — to trim
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. wake — a trail

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