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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wax — to grow
  3. track — a song
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. track — to keep track
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. track — a path
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. chest — a box
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. march — the month
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. march — music
  23. tube — a container
  24. march — the month

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