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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. rest — a break
  3. wax — to grow
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. tube — the underground
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mate — a friend
  10. race — humankind
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. fall — the season
  13. mate — to breed
  14. race — a contest
  15. object — to protest
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — an aim
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. tube — a container
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. race — the arms race

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