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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wax — to grow
  3. game — a match
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. file — a document
  6. lean — to bend
  7. tube — the underground
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. lean — thin
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. net — in sport
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. file — a line of people
  19. net — for catching
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cell — a phone
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. net — after costs
  24. lean — to rest against

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