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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wax — to grow
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. stock — goods
  10. present — the time now
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. present — a gift
  13. march — music
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — shares
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. march — the month
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. date — the fruit
  21. present — there
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. march — the month

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