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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bank — for money
  4. hand — help
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bank — of a river
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cell — a phone
  9. tube — the underground
  10. wax — to grow
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. dip — to sink
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pop — music
  18. tube — a container
  19. wind — moving air
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bank — for money
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. tube — in a tire

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