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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 ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tube — the underground
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mine — for digging
  13. kid — child
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bass — low music
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wax — to grow
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. tube — a container
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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