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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. pitch — completely
  5. tube — a container
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. ball — a great time
  9. present — a gift
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. file — a tool
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. kid — child
  18. file — a document
  19. present — there
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. tube — the underground
  22. present — the time now
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ball — a dance

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