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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. fall — the season
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. march — the month
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tube — a container
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. kid — child
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tube — the underground
  20. fall — to drop
  21. march — the month
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wound — an injury

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