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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. 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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. wax — in the ear
  5. track — to keep track
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. track — a song
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. tube — the underground
  17. pit — in a race
  18. capital — a city
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. capital — money
  21. track — a path
  22. pit — a hole
  23. tube — a container
  24. chair — to sit on

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