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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wind — moving air
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. rash — a series
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rush — hurry
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. rash — hasty
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wind — moving air
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. snap — to click
  16. tube — the underground
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. tube — a container
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wind — to turn a key

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