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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wax — to grow
  3. court — of a king
  4. tube — a container
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spell — letters
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. spell — magic
  11. court — for sport
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. tube — the underground
  14. swing — music
  15. court — of law
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. spell — a short time
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. swing — to play on

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