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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. key — in music
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. key — the most important part
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. key — for a lock
  9. tube — a container
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. wind — moving air
  16. charge — electricity
  17. charge — a price
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. march — music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. charge — in control

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