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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cap — a lid
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. cap — of ice
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — in control
  8. stand — to bear
  9. cap — a hat
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tube — a container
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. squash — to crush
  21. cold — not warm
  22. charge — a price
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. tear — from crying

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