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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. tube — a container
  3. race — the arms race
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. race — humankind
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. spring — the season
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fine — all right
  13. tube — the underground
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — a hole
  16. fine — high quality
  17. file — a document
  18. pit — in a race
  19. spring — of water
  20. file — a tool
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. race — a contest
  24. file — a line of people

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