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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. tube — a container
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. net — in sport
  6. rest — a break
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. tube — the underground
  9. hand — in cards
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. rest — what's left
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. swing — in golf
  17. net — after costs
  18. rest — what's left
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. hand — help
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. net — for catching

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