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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. field — farmland
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pit — a hole
  6. wax — to grow
  7. season — of the year
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. season — in sport
  13. field — for sport
  14. pit — in a race
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. capital — a city
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — a subject
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bass — low music

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