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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. rock — music
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. march — the month
  8. cue — a signal
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rock — a stone
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cue — for pool
  17. tube — the underground
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cue — a hint
  20. tube — a container
  21. rash — a series
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. rock — to move gently

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