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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — the underground
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. staff — employees
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. rash — a series
  13. staff — employees
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wax — to grow
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. tube — a container
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. staff — a stick
  23. rash — hasty
  24. scale — in 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